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Solar
Comet Near-Earth

Boethin

85D/Boethin

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
9.235 AU
True anomaly
180.31°
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
14h 01m 22s
Declination
-14° 56′ 46″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
10.01 AU
Elongation from the Sun
37.91° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
5.185 AU
Eccentricity
0.7812
Inclination
4.3°
Orbital period
11.81 years
Perihelion
1.135 AU
Aphelion
9.235 AU
Longitude of ascending node
359.4°
Argument of periapsis
37.62°
Epoch · J2000
2454252.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 58.3 LD
0.1499 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.247

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).

Observations used
51
Data arc
11.07 years
First observed
5 February 1975
Last observed
1 March 1986
Residual RMS
1.66 ″
Solution · Steven R. Chesley
25 September 2007

Discovery & classification

Also known as 85D

Near-Earth Object Named

Sources