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Comet

Larson

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C/2009 F1 (Larson)

Larson is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.83 AU to 210.11 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 1,090.9 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
34.534 AU
True anomaly
155.59°
Distance from Earth
33.883 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 Larson — 34.534 AU from the Sun Larson
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Larson is 33.883 AU from Earth today (4.7 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 48m 51s
Declination
-05° 04′ 03″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
33.9 AU
Elongation from the Sun
129.55° — well clear of the Sun

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
105.973 AU
Eccentricity
0.9827
Inclination
171.38°
Orbital period
1,090.9 years
Perihelion
1.831 AU
Aphelion
210.115 AU
Longitude of ascending node
357.95°
Argument of periapsis
219.58°
Epoch · J2000
2454916.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 332.0 LD
0.8532 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.602

Orbit quality

Observations used
159
Data arc
68 days
First observed
16 March 2009
Last observed
23 May 2009
Residual RMS
0.57 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.5
14.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2009 F1

Named

Sources