Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

Giclas

Add to an observing list or journal →

84P/Giclas

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.075 AU
True anomaly
299.9°
Distance from Earth
1.614 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 Giclas — 2.075 AU from the Sun Giclas
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Giclas is 1.614 AU from Earth today (13.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 20m 15s
Declination
-26° 06′ 50″
Constellation
Capricornus
Distance from Earth
1.62 AU
Elongation from the Sun
102.11° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
3.555 AU
Eccentricity
0.5159
Inclination
7.55°
Orbital period
6.7 years
Perihelion
1.721 AU
Aphelion
5.389 AU
Longitude of ascending node
108.18°
Argument of periapsis
281.39°
Epoch · J2000
2458583.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 289.6 LD
0.7441 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.868

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
1,306
Data arc
13.28 years
First observed
23 June 2013
Last observed
5 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
9 October 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
0.90 km

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 12.3
12.1

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Giclas, Henry L.
Discovery date
8 September 1978
Discovery site
Lowell Observatory

Also known as 84P · 1978 XXII · 1978k · 1985 XV · 1985g · 1992 XXV · 1992l · 84P/1978 R2

Named

Close approaches 10 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2029-03-13 17:12:00 Juptr 1.7619 AU 685.7 LD 8.4 km/s
2065-09-27 04:14:00 Juptr 0.9934 AU 386.6 LD 6.2 km/s
2076-08-20 13:46:00 Juptr 1.2977 AU 505.0 LD 6.9 km/s
2124-02-17 09:41:00 Juptr 0.6724 AU 261.7 LD 4.5 km/s
2160-05-07 18:39:00 Jupiter 0.4245 AU 165.2 LD 3.9 km/s
2160-05-07 19:01:00 Juptr 0.4245 AU 165.2 LD 3.9 km/s

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

Sources