du Toit
66P/du Toit
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 10.642 AU
- True anomaly
- 184.45°
- 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
- 07h 33m 10s
- Declination
- +39° 50′ 16″
- Constellation
- Lynx
- Distance from Earth
- 10.97 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 68.14° — well clear of the Sun
Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.
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
- 6.023 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.7866
- Inclination
- 18.67°
- Orbital period
- 14.78 years
- Perihelion
- 1.285 AU
- Aphelion
- 10.76 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 22°
- Argument of periapsis
- 257.34°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2456961.5
- Orbit class · JFc
- Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
- Earth MOID · 170.6 LD
- 0.4383 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 2.123
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).
- Observations used
- 547
- Data arc
- 44.64 years
- First observed
- 22 March 1974
- Last observed
- 10 November 2018
- Residual RMS
- 0.71 ″
- Solution · Davide Farnocchia
- 3 June 2019
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 15.7
- Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 7
- 15.7
Discovery & classification
Also known as 66P
Close approaches 3 on record
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2136-06-12 16:14:00 | Earth | 0.4526 AU | 176.1 LD | 8.3 km/s |
| 2151-06-13 23:27:00 | Earth | 0.4581 AU | 178.3 LD | 8.4 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB