Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

LINEAR

Add to an observing list or journal →

C/1999 L3 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.99 AU to 153.18 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 683.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
45.054 AU
True anomaly
159.53°
Distance from Earth
44.357 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 LINEAR — 45.054 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 44.357 AU from Earth today (6.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 57m 33s
Declination
+00° 16′ 19″
Constellation
Pisces
Distance from Earth
44.37 AU
Elongation from the Sun
133.31° — 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
77.585 AU
Eccentricity
0.9744
Inclination
166.1°
Orbital period
683.4 years
Perihelion
1.989 AU
Aphelion
153.18 AU
Longitude of ascending node
140.16°
Argument of periapsis
353.3°
Epoch · J2000
2451536.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 390.0 LD
1.0022 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.619

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
340
Data arc
295 days
First observed
9 June 1999
Last observed
30 March 2000
Residual RMS
0.72 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
8.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 15.3
8.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1999 L3

Named

Sources