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Comet Near-Earth

LINEAR

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209P/LINEAR

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.934 AU
True anomaly
175.98°
Distance from Earth
3.999 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 LINEAR — 4.934 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 3.999 AU from Earth today (33.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 36m 04s
Declination
+01° 02′ 18″
Constellation
Cetus
Distance from Earth
4 AU
Elongation from the Sun
157.49° — 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
2.95 AU
Eccentricity
0.6814
Inclination
21.34°
Orbital period
5.07 years
Perihelion
0.94 AU
Aphelion
4.959 AU
Longitude of ascending node
62.87°
Argument of periapsis
152.63°
Epoch · J2000
2456087.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 9.8 LD
0.0251 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.791

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
2,879
Data arc
20.79 years
First observed
3 December 2003
Last observed
15 September 2024
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 October 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
18.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 209P · 209P/2004 CB · 209P/2008 X2

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 21 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of LINEAR at 2060-06-10 06:45 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2060-06-10 06:45 UTC close approach of LINEAR. Catalogue miss distance 136.1 LD · 5.23 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2060-06-07 to 2060-06-13, 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 a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 136.1 LD · 5.23 × 10⁷ km 2060-06-10 06:45 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2060-06-10 06:45 UTC close approach of LINEAR. Catalogue miss distance 136.1 LD · 5.23 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2060-06-07 to 2060-06-13, 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 a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2047-09-03 11:13:00 Juptr 0.6455 AU 251.2 LD 7 km/s
2060-06-10 06:45:00 Earth 0.3497 AU 136.1 LD 22 km/s
2082-11-08 09:02:00 Juptr 1.3639 AU 530.8 LD 8.6 km/s
2095-03-07 14:55:00 Juptr 1.1614 AU 452.0 LD 10.7 km/s
2117-04-24 18:03:00 Earth 0.2788 AU 108.5 LD 16 km/s
2130-11-06 04:15:00 Jupiter 0.368 AU 143.2 LD 7.9 km/s
2130-11-06 04:15:00 Juptr 0.368 AU 143.2 LD 7.9 km/s
2158-05-24 07:46:00 Earth 0.1576 AU 61.3 LD 18.2 km/s
2166-05-17 22:45:00 Juptr 0.4661 AU 181.4 LD 7.5 km/s
2166-05-17 22:45:00 Jupiter 0.4661 AU 181.4 LD 7.5 km/s

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

Sources