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Comet

LINEAR

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225P/LINEAR

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.95 AU
True anomaly
175.75°
Distance from Earth
6.914 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 LINEAR — 5.95 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 6.914 AU from Earth today (57.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 59m 29s
Declination
-06° 13′ 35″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
6.91 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.58° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
3.651 AU
Eccentricity
0.6374
Inclination
21.34°
Orbital period
6.98 years
Perihelion
1.324 AU
Aphelion
5.979 AU
Longitude of ascending node
14.18°
Argument of periapsis
3.88°
Epoch · J2000
2458849.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 126.4 LD
0.3249 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.627

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
519
Data arc
21.38 years
First observed
29 September 2002
Last observed
14 February 2024
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
21 February 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.2
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 5
19.2

Discovery & classification

Also known as 225P · 225P/2002 T1 · 225P/2009 Q3

Named

Close approaches 19 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of LINEAR at 2071-10-12 01:38 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2071-10-12 01:38 UTC close approach of LINEAR. Catalogue miss distance 190.3 LD · 7.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2071-10-09 to 2071-10-15, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 190.3 LD · 7.32 × 10⁷ km 2071-10-12 01:38 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2071-10-12 01:38 UTC close approach of LINEAR. Catalogue miss distance 190.3 LD · 7.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2071-10-09 to 2071-10-15, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2040-11-24 08:16:00 Juptr 0.5558 AU 216.3 LD 6.4 km/s
2071-10-12 01:38:00 Earth 0.4891 AU 190.3 LD 14 km/s
2076-11-25 01:41:00 Juptr 1.6699 AU 649.9 LD 10.2 km/s
2087-10-29 11:12:00 Juptr 0.2937 AU 114.3 LD 7.4 km/s
2087-10-29 11:12:00 Jupiter 0.2937 AU 114.3 LD 7.4 km/s
2106-10-04 18:58:00 Earth 0.4793 AU 186.5 LD 12.6 km/s
2123-05-14 01:39:00 Jupiter 0.4728 AU 184.0 LD 7.7 km/s
2123-05-14 01:39:00 Juptr 0.4728 AU 184.0 LD 7.7 km/s
2147-10-31 21:32:00 Juptr 1.041 AU 405.1 LD 6.4 km/s
2182-10-03 06:50:00 Juptr 1.4717 AU 572.7 LD 10.2 km/s

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

Sources