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Comet

Reinmuth

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30P/Reinmuth 1

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.623 AU
True anomaly
140.95°
Distance from Earth
5.125 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 Reinmuth — 4.623 AU from the Sun Reinmuth
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Reinmuth is 5.125 AU from Earth today (42.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 34m 50s
Declination
-20° 08′ 06″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
5.13 AU
Elongation from the Sun
54.39° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
3.771 AU
Eccentricity
0.5023
Inclination
8.13°
Orbital period
7.32 years
Perihelion
1.877 AU
Aphelion
5.665 AU
Longitude of ascending node
119.72°
Argument of periapsis
13.25°
Epoch · J2000
2457497.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 347.5 LD
0.8929 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.837

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
2,543
Data arc
15.86 years
First observed
20 August 2009
Last observed
29 June 2025
Residual RMS
0.67 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
30 September 2025

Physical properties

Mean radius
3.90 km

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 7.5
13.6

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Reinmuth, Karl
Discovery date
22 February 1928
Discovery site
Heidelberg Observatory, Germany

Also known as 30P · 1928 I · 1928a · 1934b · 1935 II · 1949f · 1950 IV · 1957e

Named

Close approaches 12 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2055-10-29 21:45:00 Juptr 0.2323 AU 90.4 LD 6.7 km/s
2055-10-29 21:45:00 Jupiter 0.2323 AU 90.4 LD 6.7 km/s
2116-08-02 20:05:00 Juptr 0.917 AU 356.9 LD 4.7 km/s
2138-09-15 15:24:00 Juptr 0.45 AU 175.1 LD 7.1 km/s
2138-09-15 15:24:00 Jupiter 0.45 AU 175.1 LD 7.1 km/s
2188-12-06 05:07:00 Juptr 0.8884 AU 345.8 LD 5 km/s

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

Sources