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Comet

LINEAR

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C/2009 B2 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.33 AU to 81.22 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 270 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
32.234 AU
True anomaly
155.55°
Distance from Earth
31.243 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 LINEAR — 32.234 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 31.243 AU from Earth today (4.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 57m 35s
Declination
+06° 52′ 49″
Constellation
Pisces
Distance from Earth
31.25 AU
Elongation from the Sun
174.76° — 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
41.774 AU
Eccentricity
0.9443
Inclination
156.87°
Orbital period
270 years
Perihelion
2.328 AU
Aphelion
81.221 AU
Longitude of ascending node
18.81°
Argument of periapsis
192.5°
Epoch · J2000
2454901.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 519.1 LD
1.334 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.591

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
187
Data arc
100 days
First observed
29 January 2009
Last observed
9 May 2009
Residual RMS
0.76 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
13

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2009 B2

Named

Sources