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Comet

COIAS

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P/2016 P5 (COIAS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.85 AU
True anomaly
125.2°
Distance from Earth
4.187 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 COIAS — 4.85 AU from the Sun COIAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. COIAS is 4.187 AU from Earth today (34.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 27m 52s
Declination
-06° 40′ 31″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
4.2 AU
Elongation from the Sun
126.13° — 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
4.704 AU
Eccentricity
0.0577
Inclination
7.04°
Orbital period
10.2 years
Perihelion
4.433 AU
Aphelion
4.975 AU
Longitude of ascending node
185.41°
Argument of periapsis
34.95°
Epoch · J2000
2459744.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,334.4 LD
3.4287 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.99

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
258
Data arc
21.26 years
First observed
23 June 2004
Last observed
28 September 2025
Residual RMS
0.28 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 September 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 16.8
7.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2016 P5

Named

Close approaches 8 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2054-05-23 13:19:00 Juptr 0.9355 AU 364.1 LD 2.2 km/s
2059-02-05 09:56:00 Juptr 0.5369 AU 209.0 LD 3.3 km/s
2081-12-03 09:34:00 Juptr 0.9376 AU 364.9 LD 4.7 km/s
2085-12-05 05:44:00 Juptr 1.2946 AU 503.8 LD 2.6 km/s
2122-12-11 18:45:00 Juptr 1.5047 AU 585.6 LD 3.6 km/s
2165-10-16 13:28:00 Juptr 0.5534 AU 215.4 LD 3.3 km/s

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

Sources