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Comet

Elenin

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P/2014 X1 (Elenin)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
8.685 AU
True anomaly
205.16°
Distance from Earth
8.757 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 Elenin — 8.685 AU from the Sun Elenin
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Elenin is 8.757 AU from Earth today (1.2 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 50m 47s
Declination
-43° 21′ 31″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
8.77 AU
Elongation from the Sun
81.8° — well clear of the Sun

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
6.259 AU
Eccentricity
0.71
Inclination
25.97°
Orbital period
15.66 years
Perihelion
1.815 AU
Aphelion
10.703 AU
Longitude of ascending node
61.57°
Argument of periapsis
34.37°
Epoch · J2000
2457054.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 341.1 LD
0.8764 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.22

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
631
Data arc
558 days
First observed
4 September 2014
Last observed
15 March 2016
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 6.5
15.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2014 X1

Named

Close approaches 5 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2125-03-14 10:26:00 Juptr 0.9432 AU 367.1 LD 12.8 km/s
2193-01-14 08:49:00 Satrn 1.9334 AU 752.4 LD 5.3 km/s

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

Sources