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Comet

Kowalski

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C/2015 D5 (Kowalski)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
13.628 AU
True anomaly
173.38°
Distance from Earth
13.912 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 Kowalski — 13.628 AU from the Sun Kowalski
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Kowalski is 13.912 AU from Earth today (1.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 58m 50s
Declination
-33° 41′ 01″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
13.92 AU
Elongation from the Sun
71.16° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
9.148 AU
Eccentricity
0.4996
Inclination
20.4°
Orbital period
27.67 years
Perihelion
4.577 AU
Aphelion
13.719 AU
Longitude of ascending node
74.58°
Argument of periapsis
40.18°
Epoch · J2000
2457087.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,410.5 LD
3.6244 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.722

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
114
Data arc
553 days
First observed
6 December 2013
Last observed
12 June 2015
Residual RMS
0.5 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
13.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2015 D5

Named

Close approaches 3 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2119-07-26 01:07:00 Juptr 0.1502 AU 58.4 LD 7.8 km/s
2119-07-26 01:07:00 Jupiter 0.1502 AU 58.4 LD 7.8 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources