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Comet

Kowalski

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C/2016 Q4 (Kowalski)

Kowalski is a comet in the Chiron-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 7.08 AU to 26.51 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 68.85 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 30 May 2023.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
14.795 AU
True anomaly
114.99°
Distance from Earth
14.902 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 Kowalski — 14.795 AU from the Sun Kowalski
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Kowalski is 14.902 AU from Earth today (2.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 42m 56s
Declination
+13° 58′ 12″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
14.9 AU
Elongation from the Sun
82.31° — 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
16.798 AU
Eccentricity
0.5783
Inclination
7.26°
Orbital period
68.85 years
Perihelion
7.084 AU
Aphelion
26.513 AU
Longitude of ascending node
271.33°
Argument of periapsis
99.47°
Epoch · J2000
2457797.5
Orbit class · CTc
Chiron-type comet
Earth MOID · 2,371.7 LD
6.0941 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.218

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
80
Data arc
466 days
First observed
11 July 2016
Last observed
20 October 2017
Residual RMS
0.46 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
30 May 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
12.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2016 Q4

Named

Sources