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Comet

Russell-LINEAR

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156P/Russell-LINEAR

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.446 AU
True anomaly
258.75°
Distance from Earth
2.554 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 Russell-LINEAR — 2.446 AU from the Sun Russell-LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Russell-LINEAR is 2.554 AU from Earth today (21.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 01m 32s
Declination
-39° 36′ 26″
Constellation
Corona Australis
Distance from Earth
2.56 AU
Elongation from the Sun
72.07° — 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
3.462 AU
Eccentricity
0.6149
Inclination
17.26°
Orbital period
6.44 years
Perihelion
1.333 AU
Aphelion
5.591 AU
Longitude of ascending node
35.4°
Argument of periapsis
0.38°
Epoch · J2000
2458929.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 131.8 LD
0.3386 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.732

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
2,333
Data arc
35.57 years
First observed
3 September 1986
Last observed
31 March 2022
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 9
12.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 156P · 156P/1986 R1 · 156P/1993 WU · 156P/2000 QD181 · 156P/2000 XV43

Named

Close approaches 17 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2029-05-11 04:30:00 Juptr 1.0321 AU 401.7 LD 8.2 km/s
2077-05-15 05:38:00 Juptr 0.3519 AU 136.9 LD 5.8 km/s
2077-05-15 05:38:00 Jupiter 0.3519 AU 136.9 LD 5.8 km/s
2088-07-14 03:28:00 Juptr 0.7591 AU 295.4 LD 7.9 km/s
2136-08-06 06:15:00 Juptr 0.4045 AU 157.4 LD 5.6 km/s
2136-08-06 06:15:00 Jupiter 0.4045 AU 157.4 LD 5.6 km/s
2147-10-24 22:08:00 Juptr 1.2951 AU 504.0 LD 9.5 km/s
2184-04-09 23:52:00 Juptr 1.8595 AU 723.7 LD 10.6 km/s
2195-08-10 20:31:00 Jupiter 0.3753 AU 146.1 LD 5.6 km/s
2195-08-10 20:31:00 Juptr 0.3753 AU 146.1 LD 5.6 km/s

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

Sources