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Comet

LINEAR

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C/2002 A1 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 4.71 AU to 29.65 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 71.21 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
27.75 AU
True anomaly
166.94°
Distance from Earth
28.316 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 — 27.75 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 28.316 AU from Earth today (3.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 41m 37s
Declination
-24° 45′ 49″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
28.32 AU
Elongation from the Sun
54.09° — 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
17.18 AU
Eccentricity
0.7258
Inclination
14.06°
Orbital period
71.21 years
Perihelion
4.711 AU
Aphelion
29.648 AU
Longitude of ascending node
81.81°
Argument of periapsis
18.91°
Epoch · J2000
2452431.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,451.8 LD
3.7306 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.728

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
124
Data arc
839 days
First observed
13 December 2001
Last observed
31 March 2004
Residual RMS
0.6 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
8.2
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.5
8.2

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2002 A1

Named

Sources