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Comet Near-Earth

LONEOS

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C/2001 OG108 (LONEOS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
7.284 AU
True anomaly
217.17°
Distance from Earth
6.426 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 LONEOS — 7.284 AU from the Sun LONEOS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LONEOS is 6.426 AU from Earth today (53.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 10m 51s
Declination
-58° 32′ 58″
Constellation
Hydrus
Distance from Earth
25.2 AU
Elongation from the Sun
112.87° — 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
13.3 AU
Eccentricity
0.9253
Inclination
80.25°
Orbital period
48.51 years
Perihelion
0.994 AU
Aphelion
25.606 AU
Longitude of ascending node
10.56°
Argument of periapsis
116.42°
Epoch · J2000
2452248.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 117.1 LD
0.3008 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.597

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
882
Data arc
340 days
First observed
28 July 2001
Last observed
3 July 2002
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Physical properties

Mean radius
6.80 km
Rotation period
2.38 days

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.054
Absolute magnitude (H)
13.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.5
13.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2001 OG108

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 1 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of LONEOS at 2147-03-23 11:20 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2147-03-23 11:20 UTC close approach of LONEOS. Catalogue miss distance 162.3 LD · 6.24 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2147-03-20 to 2147-03-26, 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. 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 162.3 LD · 6.24 × 10⁷ km 2147-03-23 11:20 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2147-03-23 11:20 UTC close approach of LONEOS. Catalogue miss distance 162.3 LD · 6.24 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2147-03-20 to 2147-03-26, 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. 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
2147-03-23 11:20:00 Earth 0.417 AU 162.3 LD 40.3 km/s

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

Sources