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Comet Near-Earth

Gibbs

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263P/Gibbs

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.358 AU
True anomaly
203.18°
Distance from Earth
3.605 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 Gibbs — 4.358 AU from the Sun Gibbs
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Gibbs is 3.605 AU from Earth today (30.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 39m 57s
Declination
-21° 09′ 25″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
3.61 AU
Elongation from the Sun
133.27° — 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
3.06 AU
Eccentricity
0.5878
Inclination
11.54°
Orbital period
5.35 years
Perihelion
1.261 AU
Aphelion
4.859 AU
Longitude of ascending node
105.81°
Argument of periapsis
34.57°
Epoch · J2000
2458413.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 116.4 LD
0.299 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.916

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
771
Data arc
16.66 years
First observed
10 November 2006
Last observed
8 July 2023
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 June 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
18.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 263P · 263P/2006 Y2 · 263P/2012 K9

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 18 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Gibbs at 2087-02-01 22:25 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2087-02-01 22:25 UTC close approach of Gibbs. Catalogue miss distance 125.6 LD · 4.83 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2087-01-29 to 2087-02-04, 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. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 125.6 LD · 4.83 × 10⁷ km 2087-02-01 22:25 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2087-02-01 22:25 UTC close approach of Gibbs. Catalogue miss distance 125.6 LD · 4.83 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2087-01-29 to 2087-02-04, 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. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. 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
2056-09-15 22:34:00 Juptr 0.9215 AU 358.6 LD 7.8 km/s
2069-03-30 10:46:00 Juptr 0.8624 AU 335.6 LD 6.3 km/s
2087-02-01 22:25:00 Earth 0.3227 AU 125.6 LD 8.4 km/s
2116-06-23 20:17:00 Juptr 0.6067 AU 236.1 LD 5.2 km/s
2124-02-09 05:49:00 Earth 0.3521 AU 137.0 LD 6.2 km/s
2151-10-25 10:06:00 Juptr 1.8167 AU 707.0 LD 10.9 km/s
2164-03-10 14:16:00 Juptr 0.8147 AU 317.0 LD 6.4 km/s
2166-01-14 08:43:00 Earth 0.4262 AU 165.9 LD 15.2 km/s
2199-06-22 15:19:00 Juptr 0.616 AU 239.7 LD 5.3 km/s

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

Sources