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Comet

Lovejoy

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C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy)

Lovejoy is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.01 AU to 157.36 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 698 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 4 June 2012.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
32.471 AU
True anomaly
178.66°
Distance from Earth
32.246 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 Lovejoy — 32.471 AU from the Sun Lovejoy
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Lovejoy is 32.246 AU from Earth today (4.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
06h 54m 59s
Declination
-12° 00′ 50″
Constellation
Canis Major
Distance from Earth
32.24 AU
Elongation from the Sun
102.83° — well clear of the Sun

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
78.683 AU
Eccentricity
0.9999
Inclination
134.36°
Orbital period
698 years
Perihelion
0.006 AU
Aphelion
157.36 AU
Longitude of ascending node
326.37°
Argument of periapsis
53.51°
Epoch · J2000
2455901.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 190.8 LD
0.4902 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.002

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
123
Data arc
40 days
First observed
27 November 2011
Last observed
6 January 2012
Residual RMS
0.63 ″
Solution · Paul W. Chodas
4 June 2012

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 9.3
15.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2011 W3

Named

Sources