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Comet

Wilson-Hubbard

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C/1961 O1 (Wilson-Hubbard)

Wilson-Hubbard is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.04 AU to 992.23 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 11,051.2 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
89.404 AU
True anomaly
177.68°
Distance from Earth
88.502 AU
As of
25 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.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth Wilson-Hubbard — 89.404 AU from the Sun Wilson-Hubbard
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Wilson-Hubbard is 88.502 AU from Earth today (12.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
00h 59m 38s
Declination
+33° 01′ 07″
Constellation
Pisces
Distance from Earth
88.5 AU
Elongation from the Sun
154.98° — well clear of the Sun

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
496.136 AU
Eccentricity
0.9999
Inclination
24.21°
Orbital period
11,051.2 years
Perihelion
0.04 AU
Aphelion
992.232 AU
Longitude of ascending node
298.94°
Argument of periapsis
270.7°
Epoch · J2000
2437565.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 142.9 LD
0.3673 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.237

Orbit quality

Observations used
8
Data arc
36 days
First observed
6 September 1961
Last observed
12 October 1961
Residual RMS
0.19 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1961 O1

Named

Sources