Comet
Schwassmann-Wachmann
73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3-BY
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 4.074 AU
- True anomaly
- 208.14°
- As of
- 29 August 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.
Orbital elements
- Semi-major axis
- 3.034 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.6799
- Inclination
- 11.2°
- Orbital period
- 5.28 years
- Perihelion
- 0.971 AU
- Aphelion
- 5.097 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 69.77°
- Argument of periapsis
- 199.46°
- Epoch · J2000
- JD 2459815.78431 (perihelion)
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 19.3
- Spectral type
- JFc
Sources
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB (comets)