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361P/Spacewatch

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.74 AU
True anomaly
226.11°
Distance from Earth
6.002 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth Spacewatch — 5.74 AU from the Sun Spacewatch
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Spacewatch is 6.002 AU from Earth today (49.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 35m 24s
Declination
-09° 58′ 09″
Constellation
Scutum
Distance from Earth
6.01 AU
Elongation from the Sun
69.41° — 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
4.946 AU
Eccentricity
0.4379
Inclination
13.88°
Orbital period
11 years
Perihelion
2.78 AU
Aphelion
7.111 AU
Longitude of ascending node
203.28°
Argument of periapsis
219.24°
Epoch · J2000
2458012.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 703.6 LD
1.808 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.754

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
381
Data arc
13.44 years
First observed
11 October 2006
Last observed
21 March 2020
Residual RMS
0.67 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
13 February 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
4.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 23.5
4.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 361P · 361P/2006 UR111 · 361P/2017 S4

Named

Close approaches 10 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2064-08-15 02:00:00 Jupiter 0.3129 AU 121.8 LD 6.3 km/s
2064-08-15 02:00:00 Juptr 0.3129 AU 121.8 LD 6.3 km/s
2076-12-28 23:29:00 Juptr 1.3839 AU 538.6 LD 4.7 km/s
2094-01-27 18:13:00 Juptr 1.716 AU 667.8 LD 7.2 km/s
2104-01-28 00:25:00 Juptr 1.5161 AU 590.0 LD 6.7 km/s

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

Sources