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Comet Near-Earth

Finlay

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15P/Finlay

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.283 AU
True anomaly
212.46°
Distance from Earth
5.251 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 Finlay — 4.283 AU from the Sun Finlay
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Finlay is 5.251 AU from Earth today (43.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 52m 45s
Declination
-13° 36′ 21″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
5.25 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.03° — 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
3.49 AU
Eccentricity
0.7202
Inclination
6.8°
Orbital period
6.52 years
Perihelion
0.977 AU
Aphelion
6.004 AU
Longitude of ascending node
13.75°
Argument of periapsis
347.63°
Epoch · J2000
2457327.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 3.6 LD
0.0092 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.619

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,655
Data arc
13.85 years
First observed
27 April 2008
Last observed
3 March 2022
Residual RMS
0.76 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
16 April 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8.5
14.9

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Finlay, W. H.
Discovery date
26 September 1886
Discovery site
Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

Also known as 15P · 15P/1886 S1 · 15P/1893 K1 · 1886 VII · 1886e · 1893 III · 1893a · 1906 V

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 25 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Finlay at 2034-08-12 12:05 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-08-12 12:05 UTC close approach of Finlay. Catalogue miss distance 76.1 LD · 2.93 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-08-09 to 2034-08-15, 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 76.1 LD · 2.93 × 10⁷ km 2034-08-12 12:05 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-08-12 12:05 UTC close approach of Finlay. Catalogue miss distance 76.1 LD · 2.93 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-08-09 to 2034-08-15, 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
2034-08-12 12:05:00 Earth 0.1956 AU 76.1 LD 15.4 km/s
2047-11-21 08:21:00 Earth 0.4225 AU 164.4 LD 23.3 km/s
2052-09-24 21:47:00 Juptr 1.1974 AU 466.0 LD 10.4 km/s
2060-10-22 17:23:00 Earth 0.0334 AU 13.0 LD 12.6 km/s
2064-05-14 23:41:00 Jupiter 0.4311 AU 167.8 LD 6.5 km/s
2064-05-14 23:41:00 Juptr 0.4311 AU 167.8 LD 6.5 km/s
2075-04-22 17:30:00 Juptr 0.6852 AU 266.7 LD 8.9 km/s
2100-11-09 13:31:00 Earth 0.4439 AU 172.8 LD 20.6 km/s
2112-02-11 04:54:00 Juptr 0.2498 AU 97.2 LD 7.1 km/s
2112-02-11 04:54:00 Jupiter 0.2498 AU 97.2 LD 7.1 km/s

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

Sources