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379P/Spacewatch

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.68 AU
True anomaly
60.73°
Distance from Earth
3.051 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 Spacewatch — 2.68 AU from the Sun Spacewatch
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Spacewatch is 3.051 AU from Earth today (25.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 08m 47s
Declination
-12° 02′ 38″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
3.06 AU
Elongation from the Sun
58.8° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
3.526 AU
Eccentricity
0.338
Inclination
12.39°
Orbital period
6.62 years
Perihelion
2.334 AU
Aphelion
4.718 AU
Longitude of ascending node
184.03°
Argument of periapsis
31.16°
Epoch · J2000
2458253.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 521.0 LD
1.3386 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.989

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
167
Data arc
20.3 years
First observed
26 March 2006
Last observed
14 July 2026
Residual RMS
0.75 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
16 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 15.5
12.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 379P · 379P/2006 F4 · 379P/2019 D2

Named

Close approaches 9 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2035-02-08 05:03:00 Juptr 0.8368 AU 325.6 LD 5.6 km/s
2071-04-26 10:02:00 Juptr 1.6821 AU 654.6 LD 6.9 km/s
2118-10-07 17:45:00 Juptr 1.3887 AU 540.5 LD 5.9 km/s
2130-03-30 18:04:00 Juptr 1.96 AU 762.8 LD 8.9 km/s
2177-05-28 12:35:00 Juptr 0.5674 AU 220.8 LD 4.9 km/s

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

Sources