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Comet

Gibbs

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331P/Gibbs

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.951 AU
True anomaly
66.81°
Distance from Earth
3 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 — 2.951 AU from the Sun Gibbs
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Gibbs is 3 AU from Earth today (25.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 05m 44s
Declination
+11° 23′ 57″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
2.99 AU
Elongation from the Sun
78.12° — 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
3.005 AU
Eccentricity
0.0414
Inclination
9.74°
Orbital period
5.21 years
Perihelion
2.88 AU
Aphelion
3.129 AU
Longitude of ascending node
216.84°
Argument of periapsis
178.12°
Epoch · J2000
2456979.5
Orbit class · ETc
Encke-type comet
Earth MOID · 734.0 LD
1.8861 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.228

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
200
Data arc
21.3 years
First observed
26 August 2004
Last observed
12 December 2025
Residual RMS
0.82 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
18 December 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
16.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 331P · 331P/2012 F5

Named

Sources