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Comet Near-Earth

Brorsen-Metcalf

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23P/Brorsen-Metcalf

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
33.604 AU
True anomaly
180.56°
Distance from Earth
34.024 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.

Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Brorsen-Metcalf — 33.604 AU from the Sun Brorsen-Metcalf
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Brorsen-Metcalf is 34.024 AU from Earth today (4.7 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 20m 02s
Declination
-37° 37′ 16″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
34.03 AU
Elongation from the Sun
63.73° — 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
17.069 AU
Eccentricity
0.972
Inclination
19.33°
Orbital period
70.52 years
Perihelion
0.479 AU
Aphelion
33.66 AU
Longitude of ascending node
311.59°
Argument of periapsis
129.61°
Epoch · J2000
2447800.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 75.4 LD
0.1939 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.109

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
223
Data arc
142.1 years
First observed
1 August 1847
Last observed
9 September 1989
Residual RMS
1.23 ″
Solution · M.S.W. Keesey
1 March 2002

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8
7.8

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Brorsen, T.
Discovery date
20 July 1847
Discovery site
Altona Observatory, Germany

Also known as 23P · 1847 V · 1919 III · 1919b · 1989 X · 1989o · 23P/1847 O1 · 23P/1919 Q1

Near-Earth Object Named

Sources