Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

Kowalski

Add to an observing list or journal →

P/2013 G1 (Kowalski)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
8.985 AU
True anomaly
211.78°
Distance from Earth
9.127 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 Kowalski — 8.985 AU from the Sun Kowalski
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Kowalski is 9.127 AU from Earth today (1.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 46m 58s
Declination
+12° 22′ 30″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
9.11 AU
Elongation from the Sun
79.56° — well clear of the Sun

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
6.877 AU
Eccentricity
0.5124
Inclination
5.47°
Orbital period
18.03 years
Perihelion
3.353 AU
Aphelion
10.4 AU
Longitude of ascending node
221.48°
Argument of periapsis
51.24°
Epoch · J2000
2456667.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 911.2 LD
2.3413 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.722

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
261
Data arc
617 days
First observed
2 April 2013
Last observed
10 December 2014
Residual RMS
0.64 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
13.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2013 G1

Named

Close approaches 7 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2032-05-24 14:14:00 Juptr 1.7515 AU 681.7 LD 6.5 km/s
2068-03-26 05:56:00 Juptr 1.677 AU 652.7 LD 6.1 km/s
2102-10-29 15:27:00 Juptr 1.8879 AU 734.7 LD 7.1 km/s
2137-08-17 14:01:00 Juptr 1.8947 AU 737.4 LD 7 km/s
2172-07-02 18:53:00 Juptr 1.786 AU 695.1 LD 6.5 km/s

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

Sources