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Spacewatch

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C/2007 D2 (Spacewatch)

Spacewatch is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.25 AU to 110.15 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 415.7 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
36.916 AU
True anomaly
162.67°
Distance from Earth
36.138 AU
As of
24 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 Spacewatch — 36.916 AU from the Sun Spacewatch
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Spacewatch is 36.138 AU from Earth today (5.0 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
04h 35m 20s
Declination
+20° 57′ 25″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
36.13 AU
Elongation from the Sun
141.61° — 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
55.696 AU
Eccentricity
0.9776
Inclination
178.62°
Orbital period
415.7 years
Perihelion
1.246 AU
Aphelion
110.147 AU
Longitude of ascending node
297.13°
Argument of periapsis
65.13°
Epoch · J2000
2454156.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 92.2 LD
0.2369 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.282

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
72
Data arc
46 days
First observed
29 January 2007
Last observed
16 March 2007
Residual RMS
0.77 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
18.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2007 D2

Named

Sources