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Comet

LINEAR

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C/2001 U6 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 4.41 AU to 2,294.89 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 38,981.3 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
42.88 AU
True anomaly
142.93°
Distance from Earth
43.192 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 — 42.88 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 43.192 AU from Earth today (6.0 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 38m 05s
Declination
-68° 38′ 49″
Constellation
Pavo
Distance from Earth
43.2 AU
Elongation from the Sun
70.91° — 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
1,149.65 AU
Eccentricity
0.9962
Inclination
107.26°
Orbital period
38,981.3 years
Perihelion
4.406 AU
Aphelion
2,294.893 AU
Longitude of ascending node
115.23°
Argument of periapsis
85.72°
Epoch · J2000
2452358.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,614.3 LD
4.1479 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.767

Orbit quality

Observations used
110
Data arc
620 days
First observed
29 October 2001
Last observed
11 July 2003
Residual RMS
0.71 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 12.5
6.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2001 U6

Named

Sources