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Comet Near-Earth

Pons-Winnecke

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7P/Pons-Winnecke

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.444 AU
True anomaly
229.88°
Distance from Earth
3.961 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 Pons-Winnecke — 3.444 AU from the Sun Pons-Winnecke
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Pons-Winnecke is 3.961 AU from Earth today (32.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 17m 02s
Declination
+24° 29′ 56″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.95 AU
Elongation from the Sun
52.74° — 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.

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
3.419 AU
Eccentricity
0.6376
Inclination
22.33°
Orbital period
6.32 years
Perihelion
1.239 AU
Aphelion
5.599 AU
Longitude of ascending node
93.41°
Argument of periapsis
172.51°
Epoch · J2000
2457170.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 87.8 LD
0.2256 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.677

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,692
Data arc
104.7 years
First observed
28 April 1921
Last observed
20 January 2026
Residual RMS
0.67 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
9 March 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
2.60 km

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
16

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Pons, Jean Louis
Discovery date
12 June 1819
Discovery site
Marseilles, France

Also known as 7P · 1819 III · 1858 II · 1869 I · 1869a · 1875 I · 1875b · 1886 VI

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 24 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Pons-Winnecke at 2062-06-12 18:24 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2062-06-12 18:24 UTC close approach of Pons-Winnecke. Catalogue miss distance 65.2 LD · 2.51 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2062-06-09 to 2062-06-15, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 65.2 LD · 2.51 × 10⁷ km 2062-06-12 18:24 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2062-06-12 18:24 UTC close approach of Pons-Winnecke. Catalogue miss distance 65.2 LD · 2.51 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2062-06-09 to 2062-06-15, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2037-07-11 00:03:00 Juptr 0.2675 AU 104.1 LD 8 km/s
2037-07-11 00:03:00 Jupiter 0.2675 AU 104.1 LD 8 km/s
2049-06-02 00:59:00 Juptr 0.4407 AU 171.5 LD 8.6 km/s
2049-06-02 00:59:00 Jupiter 0.4407 AU 171.5 LD 8.6 km/s
2061-02-02 21:17:00 Juptr 1.7165 AU 668.0 LD 12.9 km/s
2062-06-12 18:24:00 Earth 0.1676 AU 65.2 LD 16.3 km/s
2073-08-01 13:46:00 Earth 0.1944 AU 75.6 LD 17.3 km/s
2108-01-26 08:34:00 Juptr 1.4223 AU 553.5 LD 11.5 km/s
2119-10-22 07:22:00 Jupiter 0.2806 AU 109.2 LD 8.2 km/s
2119-10-22 07:22:00 Juptr 0.2806 AU 109.2 LD 8.2 km/s

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

Sources