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Comet

Takamizawa

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98P/Takamizawa

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.524 AU
True anomaly
221°
Distance from Earth
4.862 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 Takamizawa — 4.524 AU from the Sun Takamizawa
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Takamizawa is 4.862 AU from Earth today (40.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 53m 19s
Declination
+16° 12′ 09″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
4.85 AU
Elongation from the Sun
64.86° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
3.806 AU
Eccentricity
0.5606
Inclination
10.55°
Orbital period
7.42 years
Perihelion
1.672 AU
Aphelion
5.939 AU
Longitude of ascending node
114.75°
Argument of periapsis
157.95°
Epoch · J2000
2455915.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 257.0 LD
0.6604 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.76

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
558
Data arc
15.13 years
First observed
24 March 2006
Last observed
12 May 2021
Residual RMS
0.73 ″
Solution · Javier Roa
2 June 2021

Physical properties

Mean radius
2.70 km

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8.8
14.6

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Takamizawa
Discovery date
30 July 1984
Discovery site
Tokyo Astronomical Observatory

Also known as 98P · 1984 VII · 1984j · 1991 XIII · 1991h · 98P/1984 O1 · 98P/1991 D1

Named

Close approaches 18 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Takamizawa at 2188-06-29 17:21 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2188-06-29 17:21 UTC close approach of Takamizawa. Catalogue miss distance 156.3 LD · 6.01 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2188-06-26 to 2188-07-02, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 156.3 LD · 6.01 × 10⁷ km 2188-06-29 17:21 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2188-06-29 17:21 UTC close approach of Takamizawa. Catalogue miss distance 156.3 LD · 6.01 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2188-06-26 to 2188-07-02, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2036-10-11 19:26:00 Juptr 1.0233 AU 398.2 LD 8.7 km/s
2073-02-24 20:40:00 Juptr 0.6317 AU 245.9 LD 5.7 km/s
2109-04-13 08:17:00 Juptr 0.3446 AU 134.1 LD 7.8 km/s
2109-04-13 08:17:00 Jupiter 0.3446 AU 134.1 LD 7.8 km/s
2120-02-22 06:43:00 Juptr 0.4046 AU 157.5 LD 6.2 km/s
2120-02-22 06:43:00 Jupiter 0.4046 AU 157.5 LD 6.2 km/s
2131-11-20 16:15:00 Juptr 1.771 AU 689.2 LD 11 km/s
2180-04-23 00:21:00 Juptr 0.8918 AU 347.1 LD 8.9 km/s
2188-06-29 17:21:00 Earth 0.4016 AU 156.3 LD 9.7 km/s
2191-11-04 09:27:00 Jupiter 0.2841 AU 110.6 LD 6.3 km/s

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

Sources