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Comet

LINEAR

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C/2003 H1 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.24 AU to 5,309.9 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 136,888.7 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
42.827 AU
True anomaly
153.66°
Distance from Earth
41.845 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 — 42.827 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 41.845 AU from Earth today (5.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 48m 26s
Declination
+03° 49′ 33″
Constellation
Pisces
Distance from Earth
41.85 AU
Elongation from the Sun
170.73° — 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
2,656.07 AU
Eccentricity
0.9992
Inclination
138.67°
Orbital period
136,888.7 years
Perihelion
2.24 AU
Aphelion
5,309.901 AU
Longitude of ascending node
19°
Argument of periapsis
196.14°
Epoch · J2000
2452881.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 489.1 LD
1.2568 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.391

Orbit quality

Observations used
1,890
Data arc
604 days
First observed
24 April 2003
Last observed
18 December 2004
Residual RMS
0.69 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
11

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2003 H1

Named

Sources