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Comet

Jacques

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C/2017 K6 (Jacques)

Jacques is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2 AU to 2,249.73 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 37,778 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
22.096 AU
True anomaly
145.12°
Distance from Earth
22.531 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 Jacques — 22.096 AU from the Sun Jacques
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Jacques is 22.531 AU from Earth today (3.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 49m 21s
Declination
+50° 34′ 37″
Constellation
Ursa Major
Distance from Earth
22.53 AU
Elongation from the Sun
63.02° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
1,125.867 AU
Eccentricity
0.9982
Inclination
57.25°
Orbital period
37,778 years
Perihelion
2.003 AU
Aphelion
2,249.732 AU
Longitude of ascending node
85.05°
Argument of periapsis
303.84°
Epoch · J2000
2458154.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 499.5 LD
1.2836 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.953

Orbit quality

Observations used
475
Data arc
626 days
First observed
29 May 2017
Last observed
14 February 2019
Residual RMS
0.67 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 6.3
12.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2017 K6

Named

Sources