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Comet

LINEAR

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C/2001 A2-A (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.78 AU to 5,060.28 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 127,299.1 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 26 December 2001.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
47.739 AU
True anomaly
165.39°
Distance from Earth
46.941 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 — 47.739 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 46.941 AU from Earth today (6.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 18m 06s
Declination
+48° 06′ 31″
Constellation
Andromeda
Distance from Earth
46.94 AU
Elongation from the Sun
143.16° — 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
2,530.53 AU
Eccentricity
0.9997
Inclination
36.49°
Orbital period
127,299.1 years
Perihelion
0.779 AU
Aphelion
5,060.281 AU
Longitude of ascending node
295.13°
Argument of periapsis
295.32°
Epoch · J2000
2452049.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 19.8 LD
0.0508 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.882

Orbit quality

Observations used
436
Data arc
136 days
First observed
3 January 2001
Last observed
19 May 2001
Residual RMS
0.63 ″
Solution · M.S.W. Keesey
26 December 2001

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
13

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2001 A2-A

Named

Sources