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Comet

SWAN

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C/2011 Q4 (SWAN)

SWAN is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.11 AU to 84.97 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 282.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
30.404 AU
True anomaly
162.25°
Distance from Earth
29.841 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 SWAN — 30.404 AU from the Sun SWAN
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. SWAN is 29.841 AU from Earth today (4.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
05h 46m 50s
Declination
+31° 56′ 11″
Constellation
Auriga
Distance from Earth
29.84 AU
Elongation from the Sun
124.26° — 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
43.04 AU
Eccentricity
0.9742
Inclination
147.84°
Orbital period
282.4 years
Perihelion
1.112 AU
Aphelion
84.968 AU
Longitude of ascending node
252.09°
Argument of periapsis
1.88°
Epoch · J2000
2455870.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 38.4 LD
0.0987 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.979

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
168
Data arc
204 days
First observed
4 September 2011
Last observed
26 March 2012
Residual RMS
0.69 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 9.3
11.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2011 Q4

Named

Sources