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Comet

LINEAR

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C/2005 K2 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.54 AU to 175,554.31 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 26,006,533.8 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 16 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
42.662 AU
True anomaly
167.03°
Distance from Earth
41.759 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 — 42.662 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 41.759 AU from Earth today (5.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 56m 59s
Declination
+37° 12′ 55″
Constellation
Andromeda
Distance from Earth
41.76 AU
Elongation from the Sun
155.28° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
87,777.427 AU
Eccentricity
1
Inclination
102.05°
Orbital period
26,006,533.8 years
Perihelion
0.545 AU
Aphelion
175,554.31 AU
Longitude of ascending node
45.71°
Argument of periapsis
216.58°
Epoch · J2000
2453510.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 151.3 LD
0.3887 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.191

Orbit quality

Observations used
13
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
19 May 2005
Last observed
20 May 2005
Residual RMS
2.36 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
16 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
17.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
17.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2005 K2

Named

Sources