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Public Universe
Comet

McNaught

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C/2013 G7 (McNaught)

McNaught is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 4.68 AU to 4,369.49 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 102,283.6 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
26.512 AU
True anomaly
130.46°
Distance from Earth
25.591 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 McNaught — 26.512 AU from the Sun McNaught
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. McNaught is 25.591 AU from Earth today (3.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
03h 30m 23s
Declination
+07° 22′ 39″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
25.59 AU
Elongation from the Sun
157.7° — 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
2,187.083 AU
Eccentricity
0.9979
Inclination
105.11°
Orbital period
102,283.6 years
Perihelion
4.677 AU
Aphelion
4,369.489 AU
Longitude of ascending node
48.4°
Argument of periapsis
218.26°
Epoch · J2000
2456496.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,495.5 LD
3.8427 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.696

Orbit quality

Observations used
305
Data arc
2.77 years
First observed
21 May 2012
Last observed
28 February 2015
Residual RMS
0.54 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 12.3
6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2013 G7

Named

Sources