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Comet Near-Earth

Machholz

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141P/Machholz 2-A

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.115 AU
True anomaly
140.35°
Distance from Earth
4.041 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 — 3.115 AU from the Sun Machholz
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Machholz is 4.041 AU from Earth today (33.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 51m 47s
Declination
-09° 12′ 30″
Constellation
Crater
Distance from Earth
4.04 AU
Elongation from the Sun
19.42° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
3.01 AU
Eccentricity
0.7505
Inclination
12.79°
Orbital period
5.22 years
Perihelion
0.751 AU
Aphelion
5.27 AU
Longitude of ascending node
246.16°
Argument of periapsis
149.24°
Epoch · J2000
2450594.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 41.2 LD
0.1058 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.709

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
411
Data arc
5.49 years
First observed
15 August 1994
Last observed
11 February 2000
Residual RMS
0.8 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
25 August 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 30
12

Discovery & classification

Also known as 141P-A · 141P-A/1994 P1-A

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 19 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Machholz at 2036-12-06 16:04 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-12-06 16:04 UTC close approach of Machholz. Catalogue miss distance 56.9 LD · 2.19 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-12-03 to 2036-12-09, 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 56.9 LD · 2.19 × 10⁷ km 2036-12-06 16:04 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-12-06 16:04 UTC close approach of Machholz. Catalogue miss distance 56.9 LD · 2.19 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-12-03 to 2036-12-09, 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
2030-01-23 16:39:00 Juptr 1.1739 AU 456.9 LD 9.4 km/s
2036-12-06 16:04:00 Earth 0.1463 AU 56.9 LD 17.1 km/s
2065-04-24 23:09:00 Juptr 0.8678 AU 337.7 LD 6.8 km/s
2077-06-29 19:51:00 Juptr 1.263 AU 491.5 LD 9.7 km/s
2112-10-11 01:35:00 Juptr 0.8959 AU 348.7 LD 7 km/s
2124-12-25 19:49:00 Juptr 1.1183 AU 435.2 LD 9.2 km/s
2160-03-20 16:10:00 Juptr 1.0452 AU 406.8 LD 7.6 km/s
2172-06-27 11:03:00 Juptr 0.8474 AU 329.8 LD 8.4 km/s
2189-12-22 15:35:00 Earth 0.229 AU 89.1 LD 21.5 km/s

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

Sources