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Comet

Elenin

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C/2015 X4 (Elenin)

Elenin is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 3.39 AU to 32.87 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 77.23 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 19 May 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
20.017 AU
True anomaly
148.44°
Distance from Earth
20.919 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 Elenin — 20.017 AU from the Sun Elenin
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Elenin is 20.919 AU from Earth today (2.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 50m 49s
Declination
-32° 53′ 58″
Constellation
Centaurus
Distance from Earth
20.92 AU
Elongation from the Sun
24.07° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
18.134 AU
Eccentricity
0.8128
Inclination
29.5°
Orbital period
77.23 years
Perihelion
3.395 AU
Aphelion
32.874 AU
Longitude of ascending node
262.64°
Argument of periapsis
176.33°
Epoch · J2000
2457419.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 938.3 LD
2.4109 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.18

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
607
Data arc
823 days
First observed
22 December 2014
Last observed
24 March 2017
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 May 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
13

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2015 X4

Named

Sources