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Comet

Catalina

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P/1999 XN120 (Catalina)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.531 AU
True anomaly
52.61°
Distance from Earth
3.988 AU
As of
22 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth Catalina — 3.531 AU from the Sun Catalina
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Catalina is 3.988 AU from Earth today (33.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 17m 47s
Declination
+07° 53′ 28″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.98 AU
Elongation from the Sun
56.51° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
4.181 AU
Eccentricity
0.2139
Inclination
5.03°
Orbital period
8.55 years
Perihelion
3.286 AU
Aphelion
5.075 AU
Longitude of ascending node
285.47°
Argument of periapsis
161.77°
Epoch · J2000
2451552.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 896.2 LD
2.3028 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.989

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
75
Data arc
148 days
First observed
3 November 1999
Last observed
30 March 2000
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
9.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
9.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1999 XN120

Named

Close approaches 5 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2055-03-27 09:07:00 Juptr 1.0088 AU 392.6 LD 4.1 km/s
2059-04-08 12:06:00 Juptr 1.156 AU 449.9 LD 2.5 km/s

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

Sources