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Comet

LINEAR

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C/1999 J3 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.98 AU to 3,182.83 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 63,516.1 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
49.594 AU
True anomaly
163.99°
Distance from Earth
50.355 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 LINEAR — 49.594 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 50.355 AU from Earth today (7.0 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 49m 28s
Declination
-50° 40′ 08″
Constellation
Lupus
Distance from Earth
50.36 AU
Elongation from the Sun
39.45° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
1,591.905 AU
Eccentricity
0.9994
Inclination
101.66°
Orbital period
63,516.1 years
Perihelion
0.977 AU
Aphelion
3,182.833 AU
Longitude of ascending node
228.98°
Argument of periapsis
161.98°
Epoch · J2000
2451429.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 4.1 LD
0.0106 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.244

Orbit quality

Observations used
187
Data arc
292 days
First observed
12 May 1999
Last observed
28 February 2000
Residual RMS
0.81 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 13.5
11.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1999 J3

Named

Sources