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Comet

Tabur

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C/1996 Q1 (Tabur)

Tabur is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.84 AU to 1,209.2 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 14,882 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
52.927 AU
True anomaly
165.84°
Distance from Earth
53.658 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 Tabur — 52.927 AU from the Sun Tabur
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Tabur is 53.658 AU from Earth today (7.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 40m 08s
Declination
-54° 21′ 49″
Constellation
Centaurus
Distance from Earth
53.66 AU
Elongation from the Sun
42.23° — 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
605.019 AU
Eccentricity
0.9986
Inclination
73.36°
Orbital period
14,882 years
Perihelion
0.84 AU
Aphelion
1,209.199 AU
Longitude of ascending node
31.4°
Argument of periapsis
57.41°
Epoch · J2000
2450341.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 32.6 LD
0.0838 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.334

Orbit quality

Observations used
214
Data arc
58 days
First observed
21 August 1996
Last observed
18 October 1996
Residual RMS
0.92 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10.3
11

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1996 Q1

Named

Sources