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Comet

Russell

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83D/Russell 1

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.973 AU
True anomaly
221.96°
Distance from Earth
3.805 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 Russell — 3.973 AU from the Sun Russell
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Russell is 3.805 AU from Earth today (31.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 02m 05s
Declination
+06° 47′ 46″
Constellation
Monoceros
Distance from Earth
3.79 AU
Elongation from the Sun
92.94° — 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
3.338 AU
Eccentricity
0.5172
Inclination
22.66°
Orbital period
6.1 years
Perihelion
1.612 AU
Aphelion
5.064 AU
Longitude of ascending node
230.84°
Argument of periapsis
0.38°
Epoch · J2000
2446240.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 233.9 LD
0.6009 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.824

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
20
Data arc
6.3 years
First observed
27 February 1979
Last observed
17 June 1985
Residual RMS
1.23 ″
Solution · M.S.W. Keesey
14 March 2002

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 15
14

Discovery & classification

Also known as 83D · 1979 V · 1979d · 1985 IX · 1985b · 83D/1979 M2 · 83D/1985 G1

Named

Close approaches 11 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2046-03-30 21:31:00 Juptr 1.5973 AU 621.6 LD 7.4 km/s
2070-10-13 17:50:00 Juptr 1.083 AU 421.5 LD 5.6 km/s
2094-10-26 11:27:00 Juptr 0.8355 AU 325.1 LD 5.6 km/s
2117-10-05 14:49:00 Juptr 1.3541 AU 527.0 LD 5.6 km/s
2178-01-15 21:41:00 Juptr 1.6379 AU 637.4 LD 10.3 km/s

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

Sources