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Comet

Ory

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304P/Ory

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.153 AU
True anomaly
89°
Distance from Earth
2.538 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 Ory — 2.153 AU from the Sun Ory
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Ory is 2.538 AU from Earth today (21.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 41m 18s
Declination
+15° 58′ 41″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
2.54 AU
Elongation from the Sun
56.78° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
3.244 AU
Eccentricity
0.5742
Inclination
2.76°
Orbital period
5.84 years
Perihelion
1.381 AU
Aphelion
5.107 AU
Longitude of ascending node
60.68°
Argument of periapsis
329.66°
Epoch · J2000
2455772.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 150.5 LD
0.3866 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.895

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,496
Data arc
18.38 years
First observed
4 October 2002
Last observed
18 February 2021
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 May 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 14.8
15.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 304P · 304P/2008 Q2 · 304P/2014 L4

Named

Close approaches 20 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Ory at 2031-10-18 16:39 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-10-18 16:39 UTC close approach of Ory. Catalogue miss distance 167.7 LD · 6.44 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-10-15 to 2031-10-21, 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 167.7 LD · 6.44 × 10⁷ km 2031-10-18 16:39 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-10-18 16:39 UTC close approach of Ory. Catalogue miss distance 167.7 LD · 6.44 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-10-15 to 2031-10-21, 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
2029-11-20 05:04:00 Juptr 1.4205 AU 552.8 LD 7.6 km/s
2031-10-18 16:39:00 Earth 0.4308 AU 167.7 LD 9.6 km/s
2070-02-25 18:40:00 Mars 0.0919 AU 35.8 LD 12.6 km/s
2077-03-02 01:54:00 Juptr 1.8669 AU 726.5 LD 9.2 km/s
2080-10-25 03:44:00 Earth 0.3815 AU 148.5 LD 6.2 km/s
2088-12-10 22:13:00 Jupiter 0.4399 AU 171.2 LD 4.7 km/s
2088-12-10 22:13:00 Juptr 0.4399 AU 171.2 LD 4.7 km/s
2092-04-20 13:39:00 Mars 0.0135 AU 5.3 LD 6.4 km/s
2100-10-28 16:58:00 Juptr 0.4296 AU 167.2 LD 4.6 km/s
2100-10-28 16:58:00 Jupiter 0.4296 AU 167.2 LD 4.6 km/s

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

Sources