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Comet

Matheny

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C/2016 T1 (Matheny)

Matheny is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.3 AU to 249.89 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 1,416 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
22.988 AU
True anomaly
144.75°
Distance from Earth
23.082 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 Matheny — 22.988 AU from the Sun Matheny
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Matheny is 23.082 AU from Earth today (3.2 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 00m 50s
Declination
-29° 15′ 06″
Constellation
Puppis
Distance from Earth
23.08 AU
Elongation from the Sun
83.84° — well clear of the Sun

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
126.097 AU
Eccentricity
0.9818
Inclination
129.82°
Orbital period
1,416 years
Perihelion
2.3 AU
Aphelion
249.893 AU
Longitude of ascending node
56.23°
Argument of periapsis
137.35°
Epoch · J2000
2457717.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 557.5 LD
1.4325 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.157

Orbit quality

Observations used
130
Data arc
232 days
First observed
6 October 2016
Last observed
26 May 2017
Residual RMS
0.47 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
15.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2016 T1

Named

Sources