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Comet

Christensen

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495P/Christensen

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.848 AU
True anomaly
57.97°
Distance from Earth
4.134 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 Christensen — 3.848 AU from the Sun Christensen
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Christensen is 4.134 AU from Earth today (34.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 31m 38s
Declination
+06° 14′ 37″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
4.13 AU
Elongation from the Sun
67.13° — 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
4.751 AU
Eccentricity
0.2712
Inclination
26.36°
Orbital period
10.36 years
Perihelion
3.463 AU
Aphelion
6.039 AU
Longitude of ascending node
291.62°
Argument of periapsis
141.49°
Epoch · J2000
2459253.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 980.9 LD
2.5206 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.744

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
118
Data arc
11.07 years
First observed
27 December 2014
Last observed
23 January 2026
Residual RMS
0.56 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
9 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 7.5
13.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 495P · 495P/2016 A2 · 495P/2024 RU145

Named

Close approaches 8 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2026-10-12 02:48:00 Juptr 1.6519 AU 642.9 LD 8.2 km/s
2032-03-21 05:17:00 Juptr 1.1152 AU 434.0 LD 6.2 km/s
2044-02-05 14:25:00 Juptr 1.8118 AU 705.1 LD 9.3 km/s
2121-07-09 00:50:00 Juptr 1.539 AU 599.0 LD 8.2 km/s
2126-12-28 06:41:00 Juptr 1.3277 AU 516.7 LD 6.2 km/s
2138-12-23 09:45:00 Juptr 1.2667 AU 493.0 LD 8.3 km/s

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

Sources