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Comet

ASASSN

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C/2017 O1 (ASASSN)

ASASSN is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.5 AU to 837.04 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 8,585.2 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 31 July 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
22.825 AU
True anomaly
150.7°
Distance from Earth
23.791 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 ASASSN — 22.825 AU from the Sun ASASSN
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ASASSN is 23.791 AU from Earth today (3.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 21m 13s
Declination
-03° 00′ 16″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
23.79 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.52° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
419.27 AU
Eccentricity
0.9964
Inclination
39.85°
Orbital period
8,585.2 years
Perihelion
1.499 AU
Aphelion
837.042 AU
Longitude of ascending node
25.81°
Argument of periapsis
20.91°
Epoch · J2000
2458039.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 208.1 LD
0.5348 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.177

Orbit quality

Observations used
2,877
Data arc
601 days
First observed
19 July 2017
Last observed
12 March 2019
Residual RMS
0.45 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
31 July 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8.8
12.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2017 O1

Named

Sources