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Comet

Lemmon

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C/2016 X1 (Lemmon)

Lemmon is a comet in the Chiron-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 7.56 AU to 4,029.73 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 90,698.3 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
17.106 AU
True anomaly
96.76°
Distance from Earth
18.053 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 Lemmon — 17.106 AU from the Sun Lemmon
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Lemmon is 18.053 AU from Earth today (2.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 09m 57s
Declination
-29° 21′ 57″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
18.06 AU
Elongation from the Sun
17.04° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
2,018.649 AU
Eccentricity
0.9963
Inclination
26.46°
Orbital period
90,698.3 years
Perihelion
7.564 AU
Aphelion
4,029.733 AU
Longitude of ascending node
256.43°
Argument of periapsis
224.57°
Epoch · J2000
2458389.5
Orbit class · CTc
Chiron-type comet
Earth MOID · 2,582.5 LD
6.6358 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.053

Orbit quality

Observations used
289
Data arc
3.32 years
First observed
26 November 2016
Last observed
23 March 2020
Residual RMS
0.59 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 9.3
6.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2016 X1

Named

Sources