Comet Near-Earth

Schwassmann-Wachmann

73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3-AM

Where is it now

Distance from Sun: 3.227 AU
True anomaly: 222.46°
Distance from Earth: 3.723 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.

Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Schwassmann-Wachmann is 3.723 AU from Earth today (31.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension: 10h 05m 23s
Declination: +21° 18′ 19″
Constellation: Leo
Distance from Earth: 3.71 AU
Elongation from the Sun: 53.66° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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.

Paste a location

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
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: 3.036 AU
Eccentricity: 0.6934
Inclination: 11.54°
Orbital period: 5.29 years
Perihelion: 0.931 AU
Aphelion: 5.141 AU
Longitude of ascending node: 68.12°
Argument of periapsis: 201.09°
Epoch · J2000: 2453839.5
Orbit class · JFc: Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 15.9 LD: 0.0409 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter): 2.793

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 9).

Observations used: 12
Data arc: 2 days
First observed: 7 April 2006
Last observed: 9 April 2006
Residual RMS: 0.7 ″
Solution · Nick Mastrodemos: 18 April 2006

Discovery & classification

Also known as 73P-AM

Near-Earth Object Named

Sources

orbital elements: JPL SBDB