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Comet

LINEAR

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C/2002 C2 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 3.25 AU to 18,113.24 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 862,133 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 July 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
44.426 AU
True anomaly
148.63°
Distance from Earth
44.866 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 — 44.426 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 44.866 AU from Earth today (6.2 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 31m 35s
Declination
-71° 03′ 19″
Constellation
Apus
Distance from Earth
44.87 AU
Elongation from the Sun
62.77° — 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
9,058.245 AU
Eccentricity
0.9996
Inclination
104.88°
Orbital period
862,133 years
Perihelion
3.254 AU
Aphelion
18,113.235 AU
Longitude of ascending node
242.96°
Argument of periapsis
159.93°
Epoch · J2000
2452418.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 900.2 LD
2.3131 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.574

Orbit quality

Observations used
209
Data arc
346 days
First observed
1 February 2002
Last observed
13 January 2003
Residual RMS
0.73 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
9.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10.3
9.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2002 C2

Named

Sources