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Comet

Shajn-Schaldach

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61P/Shajn-Schaldach

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.197 AU
True anomaly
190.23°
Distance from Earth
6.186 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 Shajn-Schaldach — 5.197 AU from the Sun Shajn-Schaldach
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Shajn-Schaldach is 6.186 AU from Earth today (51.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 12m 09s
Declination
-09° 05′ 38″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
6.19 AU
Elongation from the Sun
5.75° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
3.692 AU
Eccentricity
0.4242
Inclination
6°
Orbital period
7.09 years
Perihelion
2.126 AU
Aphelion
5.258 AU
Longitude of ascending node
162.97°
Argument of periapsis
221.66°
Epoch · J2000
2459852.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 441.1 LD
1.1334 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.927

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
895
Data arc
7.03 years
First observed
27 January 2017
Last observed
9 February 2024
Residual RMS
0.49 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
14 May 2024

Physical properties

Mean radius
1.20 km

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 13
11.9

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Shajn, Pelageja F.
Discovery date
18 September 1949
Discovery site
Crimean Astrophysical Observatory

Also known as 61P · 1949 VI · 1949e · 1971 IX · 1971e · 1978i · 1979 I · 1985i

Named

Close approaches 6 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2041-07-23 13:16:00 Juptr 1.4357 AU 558.8 LD 6.3 km/s
2088-04-06 21:41:00 Juptr 0.5612 AU 218.4 LD 4.3 km/s

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

Sources