LINEAR
217P/LINEAR
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 4.403 AU
- True anomaly
- 140.12°
- As of
- 17 September 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 10h 39m 52s
- Declination
- +13° 37′ 39″
- Constellation
- Leo
- Distance from Earth
- 5.34 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 19.76° — too close to the Sun to observe
Visible from both hemispheres.
From your location
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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
- 3.95 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.6888
- Inclination
- 12.86°
- Orbital period
- 7.85 years
- Perihelion
- 1.229 AU
- Aphelion
- 6.67 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 125.54°
- Argument of periapsis
- 246.94°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2456311.5
- Orbit class · JFc
- Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
- Earth MOID · 121.3 LD
- 0.3117 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 2.549
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).
- Observations used
- 3,365
- Data arc
- 17.11 years
- First observed
- 17 March 2009
- Last observed
- 28 April 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.59 ″
- Solution · Davide Farnocchia
- 7 July 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 14.6
- Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
- 14.6
Discovery & classification
Also known as 217P
Close approaches 2 on record
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2056-04-01 10:27:00 | Mars | 0.0636 AU | 24.8 LD | 12.4 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB