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Comet

Mueller

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C/1997 J1 (Mueller)

Mueller is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.3 AU to 508.78 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 4,085.1 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
50.294 AU
True anomaly
156.51°
Distance from Earth
49.72 AU
As of
24 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 Mueller — 50.294 AU from the Sun Mueller
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Mueller is 49.72 AU from Earth today (6.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
03h 26m 46s
Declination
-39° 10′ 13″
Constellation
Eridanus
Distance from Earth
49.72 AU
Elongation from the Sun
124.77° — 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
255.54 AU
Eccentricity
0.991
Inclination
122.97°
Orbital period
4,085.1 years
Perihelion
2.302 AU
Aphelion
508.779 AU
Longitude of ascending node
277.08°
Argument of periapsis
98.95°
Epoch · J2000
2450668.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 714.3 LD
1.8355 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.001

Orbit quality

Observations used
497
Data arc
885 days
First observed
12 August 1996
Last observed
14 January 1999
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
8.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 9.5
8.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1997 J1

Named

Sources