Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

ODAS

Add to an observing list or journal →

198P/ODAS

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.442 AU
True anomaly
111.99°
Distance from Earth
4.336 AU
As of
22 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth ODAS — 3.442 AU from the Sun ODAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ODAS is 4.336 AU from Earth today (36.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 23m 25s
Declination
-02° 33′ 16″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
4.34 AU
Elongation from the Sun
23.24° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
3.583 AU
Eccentricity
0.4477
Inclination
1.35°
Orbital period
6.78 years
Perihelion
1.979 AU
Aphelion
5.188 AU
Longitude of ascending node
358.74°
Argument of periapsis
69.06°
Epoch · J2000
2452729.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 386.2 LD
0.9923 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.936

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
200
Data arc
20.03 years
First observed
15 December 1998
Last observed
25 December 2018
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 November 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
15.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 198P · 198P/1998 X1 · 198P/2006 B7

Named

Close approaches 13 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2042-09-22 02:15:00 Juptr 0.1543 AU 60.1 LD 4.3 km/s
2042-09-22 02:15:00 Jupiter 0.1543 AU 60.1 LD 4.3 km/s
2084-03-01 20:53:00 Juptr 1.6289 AU 633.9 LD 5.1 km/s
2125-12-30 17:03:00 Juptr 0.279 AU 108.6 LD 3.4 km/s
2125-12-30 17:03:00 Jupiter 0.279 AU 108.6 LD 3.4 km/s
2149-11-20 09:14:00 Juptr 1.7289 AU 672.8 LD 7.3 km/s
2184-07-13 11:17:00 Juptr 1.6382 AU 637.5 LD 7.4 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources