Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

Peters

Add to an observing list or journal →

C/1857 O1 (Peters)

Peters is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.75 AU to 75.52 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 235 years.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
66.026 AU
True anomaly
184.34°
Distance from Earth
67.017 AU
As of
24 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.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth Peters — 66.026 AU from the Sun Peters
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Peters is 67.017 AU from Earth today (9.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 45m 38s
Declination
-07° 54′ 02″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
67.02 AU
Elongation from the Sun
5.29° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
38.131 AU
Eccentricity
0.9804
Inclination
32.76°
Orbital period
235 years
Perihelion
0.747 AU
Aphelion
75.516 AU
Longitude of ascending node
202.83°
Argument of periapsis
180.94°
Epoch · J2000
2399560.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.033

Orbit quality

Observations used
91
Data arc
84 days
First observed
30 July 1857
Last observed
22 October 1857

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1857 O1

Named

Sources