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Comet

Russell

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91P/Russell 3

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.081 AU
True anomaly
242.87°
Distance from Earth
4.29 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 Russell — 4.081 AU from the Sun Russell
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Russell is 4.29 AU from Earth today (35.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 10m 00s
Declination
+04° 28′ 33″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
4.28 AU
Elongation from the Sun
71.7° — 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
3.89 AU
Eccentricity
0.3302
Inclination
14.09°
Orbital period
7.67 years
Perihelion
2.606 AU
Aphelion
5.175 AU
Longitude of ascending node
247.9°
Argument of periapsis
354.87°
Epoch · J2000
2454575.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 620.1 LD
1.5933 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.921

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
337
Data arc
24.78 years
First observed
18 November 1996
Last observed
30 August 2021
Residual RMS
0.82 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
7 September 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 21.8
7.7

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Russell, Kenneth S.
Discovery date
14 June 1983
Discovery site
U. K. Schmidt Telescope Unit, Siding Spring

Also known as 91P · 1982 IX · 1983i · 1989d · 1990 VII · 91P/1983 L1 · 91P/1989 A4

Named

Close approaches 16 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2083-05-13 20:13:00 Juptr 0.7712 AU 300.1 LD 4.8 km/s
2087-01-01 03:24:00 Juptr 1.9507 AU 759.1 LD 3 km/s
2125-05-01 10:59:00 Juptr 1.8272 AU 711.1 LD 6.4 km/s
2162-11-05 02:30:00 Juptr 1.7464 AU 679.6 LD 4.8 km/s
2166-12-08 02:02:00 Jupiter 0.4963 AU 193.2 LD 5 km/s
2166-12-08 02:02:00 Juptr 0.4963 AU 193.2 LD 5 km/s
2189-12-19 07:10:00 Juptr 0.4688 AU 182.4 LD 4.9 km/s
2189-12-19 07:10:00 Jupiter 0.4688 AU 182.4 LD 4.9 km/s
2193-07-06 23:12:00 Juptr 1.8769 AU 730.4 LD 3.1 km/s

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

Sources