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Comet Near-Earth

Levy

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C/1991 L3 (Levy)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
24.195 AU
True anomaly
187.14°
Distance from Earth
25.163 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.

Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Levy — 24.195 AU from the Sun Levy
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Levy is 25.163 AU from Earth today (3.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 38m 48s
Declination
-19° 07′ 04″
Constellation
Corvus
Distance from Earth
25.16 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.94° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
13.813 AU
Eccentricity
0.9289
Inclination
19.19°
Orbital period
51.34 years
Perihelion
0.983 AU
Aphelion
26.643 AU
Longitude of ascending node
329.43°
Argument of periapsis
41.48°
Epoch · J2000
2448619.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 29.3 LD
0.0753 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.517

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
136
Data arc
587 days
First observed
14 June 1991
Last observed
21 January 1993
Residual RMS
0.74 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Physical properties

Mean radius
5.80 km

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
8.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 14.5
8.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1991 L3 · C/1991 L3 · 1991 XI · 1991q

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 3 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Levy at 2042-11-21 11:56 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2042-11-21 11:56 UTC close approach of Levy. Catalogue miss distance 182.8 LD · 7.03 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2042-11-18 to 2042-11-24, 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. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. 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 182.8 LD · 7.03 × 10⁷ km 2042-11-21 11:56 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2042-11-21 11:56 UTC close approach of Levy. Catalogue miss distance 182.8 LD · 7.03 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2042-11-18 to 2042-11-24, 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. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. 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
2042-11-21 11:56:00 Earth 0.4697 AU 182.8 LD 22.5 km/s
2094-08-03 00:02:00 Earth 0.4441 AU 172.8 LD 28.2 km/s
2097-03-04 18:51:00 Satrn 1.4197 AU 552.5 LD 12.8 km/s

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

Sources