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Comet

Christensen

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C/2013 K1 (Christensen)

Christensen is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.95 AU to 158.63 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 712.8 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
29.51 AU
True anomaly
161.33°
Distance from Earth
29.259 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 Christensen — 29.51 AU from the Sun Christensen
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Christensen is 29.259 AU from Earth today (4.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 04m 32s
Declination
+04° 18′ 36″
Constellation
Monoceros
Distance from Earth
29.25 AU
Elongation from the Sun
104.35° — 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
79.791 AU
Eccentricity
0.9881
Inclination
42.34°
Orbital period
712.8 years
Perihelion
0.948 AU
Aphelion
158.634 AU
Longitude of ascending node
125.91°
Argument of periapsis
171.33°
Epoch · J2000
2456443.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 23.9 LD
0.0614 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.955

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
52
Data arc
50 days
First observed
18 May 2013
Last observed
7 July 2013
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 9
18.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2013 K1

Named

Sources