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Comet

Tsuchinshan

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C/2025 A3 (Tsuchinshan)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.886 AU
True anomaly
18.66°
Distance from Earth
6.862 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 Tsuchinshan — 5.886 AU from the Sun Tsuchinshan
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Tsuchinshan is 6.862 AU from Earth today (57.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 18m 34s
Declination
-16° 20′ 58″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
6.86 AU
Elongation from the Sun
10.42° — 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
10.192 AU
Eccentricity
0.4317
Inclination
9.98°
Orbital period
32.54 years
Perihelion
5.792 AU
Aphelion
14.592 AU
Longitude of ascending node
322.43°
Argument of periapsis
222.3°
Epoch · J2000
2460821.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,869.2 LD
4.8029 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.997

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
111
Data arc
559 days
First observed
25 December 2024
Last observed
7 July 2026
Residual RMS
0.42 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 September 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 12.5
7.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2025 A3

Named

Close approaches 1 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2122-09-11 00:40:00 Juptr 0.6886 AU 268.0 LD 4.1 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources