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Comet

Catalina

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C/2013 U1 (Catalina)

Catalina is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.42 AU to 21.43 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 41.18 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
19.362 AU
True anomaly
166.61°
Distance from Earth
20.012 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 Catalina — 19.362 AU from the Sun Catalina
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Catalina is 20.012 AU from Earth today (2.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 40m 18s
Declination
-10° 35′ 39″
Constellation
Sextans
Distance from Earth
20.01 AU
Elongation from the Sun
48.42° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
11.925 AU
Eccentricity
0.7972
Inclination
23.94°
Orbital period
41.18 years
Perihelion
2.419 AU
Aphelion
21.432 AU
Longitude of ascending node
211.25°
Argument of periapsis
143.14°
Epoch · J2000
2456596.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 567.7 LD
1.4589 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.107

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
137
Data arc
63 days
First observed
22 October 2013
Last observed
24 December 2013
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
13.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2013 U1

Named

Sources