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Comet

LINEAR

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C/2001 C1 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 5.1 AU to 81,600.1 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 8,242,139.9 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
42.996 AU
True anomaly
139.7°
Distance from Earth
42.002 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 LINEAR — 42.996 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 42.002 AU from Earth today (5.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 05m 56s
Declination
+12° 24′ 17″
Constellation
Aries
Distance from Earth
42 AU
Elongation from the Sun
179.38° — near opposition — up most of the night

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
40,802.602 AU
Eccentricity
0.9999
Inclination
68.96°
Orbital period
8,242,139.9 years
Perihelion
5.104 AU
Aphelion
81,600.099 AU
Longitude of ascending node
33.72°
Argument of periapsis
219.95°
Epoch · J2000
2452011.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,664.1 LD
4.2761 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.006

Orbit quality

Observations used
229
Data arc
795 days
First observed
29 April 2000
Last observed
3 July 2002
Residual RMS
0.76 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 9.8
6.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2001 C1 · C/2000 HR81

Named

Sources