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Comet Near-Earth

Grigg-Skjellerup

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26P/Grigg-Skjellerup

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.952 AU
True anomaly
182.28°
Distance from Earth
4.009 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 Grigg-Skjellerup — 4.952 AU from the Sun Grigg-Skjellerup
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Grigg-Skjellerup is 4.009 AU from Earth today (33.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 31m 27s
Declination
+12° 48′ 49″
Constellation
Aries
Distance from Earth
4.01 AU
Elongation from the Sun
159.12° — 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
3.024 AU
Eccentricity
0.6397
Inclination
22.46°
Orbital period
5.26 years
Perihelion
1.09 AU
Aphelion
4.959 AU
Longitude of ascending node
211.63°
Argument of periapsis
1.9°
Epoch · J2000
2456017.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 33.0 LD
0.0848 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.804

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
511
Data arc
16.8 years
First observed
19 December 2007
Last observed
7 October 2024
Residual RMS
0.66 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
11 October 2024

Physical properties

Mean radius
1.30 km

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 5.5
16.5

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Grigg, John
Discovery date
23 July 1902
Discovery site
Thames, New Zealand

Also known as 26P · 1808 III · 1902 II · 1902c · 1922 I · 1922b · 1927 V · 1927e

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 37 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Grigg-Skjellerup at 2083-04-15 08:29 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2083-04-15 08:29 UTC close approach of Grigg-Skjellerup. Catalogue miss distance 120.1 LD · 4.62 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2083-04-12 to 2083-04-18, 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 120.1 LD · 4.62 × 10⁷ km 2083-04-15 08:29 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2083-04-15 08:29 UTC close approach of Grigg-Skjellerup. Catalogue miss distance 120.1 LD · 4.62 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2083-04-12 to 2083-04-18, 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
2047-03-25 04:04:00 Juptr 0.2845 AU 110.7 LD 7.5 km/s
2047-03-25 04:04:00 Jupiter 0.2845 AU 110.7 LD 7.5 km/s
2059-06-02 01:03:00 Juptr 0.6391 AU 248.7 LD 7.8 km/s
2083-04-15 08:29:00 Earth 0.3086 AU 120.1 LD 15.9 km/s
2106-07-12 00:31:00 Juptr 1.4768 AU 574.7 LD 10.6 km/s
2110-04-25 17:29:00 Earth 0.2908 AU 113.2 LD 13.9 km/s
2118-07-09 16:47:00 Juptr 0.1594 AU 62.0 LD 7.6 km/s
2118-07-09 16:47:00 Jupiter 0.1594 AU 62.0 LD 7.6 km/s
2136-02-21 01:55:00 Earth 0.4815 AU 187.4 LD 26.9 km/s
2141-03-10 16:10:00 Earth 0.2424 AU 94.3 LD 19.9 km/s

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

Sources