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Comet Near-Earth

Machholz

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141P/Machholz 2

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.379 AU
True anomaly
124.09°
Distance from Earth
3.203 AU
As of
11 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 — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Machholz — 2.379 AU from the Sun Machholz
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Machholz is 3.203 AU from Earth today (26.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 12m 22s
Declination
-06° 01′ 58″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.2 AU
Elongation from the Sun
29.27° — 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
3.055 AU
Eccentricity
0.7367
Inclination
13.98°
Orbital period
5.34 years
Perihelion
0.804 AU
Aphelion
5.305 AU
Longitude of ascending node
241.88°
Argument of periapsis
153.62°
Epoch · J2000
2458696.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 38.5 LD
0.0989 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.709

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
852
Data arc
5.83 years
First observed
24 May 2015
Last observed
24 March 2021
Residual RMS
0.88 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
26 August 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
17.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
17.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 141P

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 17 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Machholz at 2036-12-14 20:03 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-12-14 20:03 UTC close approach of Machholz. Catalogue miss distance 49.4 LD · 1.9 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-12-11 to 2036-12-17, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 49.4 LD · 1.9 × 10⁷ km 2036-12-14 20:03 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-12-14 20:03 UTC close approach of Machholz. Catalogue miss distance 49.4 LD · 1.9 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-12-11 to 2036-12-17, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2036-12-14 20:03:00 Earth 0.127 AU 49.4 LD 17.9 km/s
2057-10-04 02:48:00 Earth 0.2596 AU 101.0 LD 16.3 km/s
2073-08-11 14:39:00 Earth 0.4599 AU 179.0 LD 26.1 km/s
2094-09-14 10:06:00 Earth 0.269 AU 104.7 LD 16.8 km/s
2115-11-21 17:30:00 Earth 0.1028 AU 40.0 LD 16.3 km/s
2131-11-03 18:01:00 Earth 0.1865 AU 72.6 LD 17.1 km/s
2152-11-02 20:39:00 Earth 0.1841 AU 71.6 LD 17 km/s
2168-10-24 19:17:00 Earth 0.1679 AU 65.3 LD 16.1 km/s
2189-12-09 22:46:00 Earth 0.1582 AU 61.6 LD 19.2 km/s

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

Sources