Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

Chase

Add to an observing list or journal →

C/1898 V1 (Chase)

Chase is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.28 AU to 6,086.14 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 167,965.5 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
139.925 AU
True anomaly
165.49°
Distance from Earth
140.485 AU
As of
25 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 Chase — 139.925 AU from the Sun Chase
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Chase is 140.485 AU from Earth today (19.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 50m 37s
Declination
-19° 40′ 45″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
140.49 AU
Elongation from the Sun
55.09° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
3,044.21 AU
Eccentricity
0.9992
Inclination
22.5°
Orbital period
167,965.5 years
Perihelion
2.285 AU
Aphelion
6,086.135 AU
Longitude of ascending node
97.24°
Argument of periapsis
4.66°
Epoch · J2000
2414689.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 506.8 LD
1.3023 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.733

Orbit quality

Observations used
29
Data arc
180 days
First observed
6 December 1898
Last observed
4 June 1899
Residual RMS
0.81 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1898 V1

Named

Sources