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Comet

Christensen

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C/2014 M2 (Christensen)

Christensen is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 6.91 AU to 1,897.94 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 29,393.7 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 28 June 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
24.738 AU
True anomaly
116.53°
Distance from Earth
23.793 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 Christensen — 24.738 AU from the Sun Christensen
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Christensen is 23.793 AU from Earth today (3.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 37m 36s
Declination
+28° 43′ 30″
Constellation
Aries
Distance from Earth
23.79 AU
Elongation from the Sun
161.64° — near opposition — up most of the night

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
952.426 AU
Eccentricity
0.9927
Inclination
32.42°
Orbital period
29,393.7 years
Perihelion
6.91 AU
Aphelion
1,897.942 AU
Longitude of ascending node
245.35°
Argument of periapsis
40.28°
Epoch · J2000
2456857.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 2,320.3 LD
5.9621 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.752

Orbit quality

Observations used
57
Data arc
511 days
First observed
6 May 2013
Last observed
29 September 2014
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 June 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.3
6.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2014 M2

Named

Sources