Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

LINEAR

Add to an observing list or journal →

C/2016 A8 (LINEAR)

LINEAR is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.88 AU to 68.24 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 207.6 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
22.523 AU
True anomaly
152.24°
Distance from Earth
23.306 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 LINEAR — 22.523 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 23.306 AU from Earth today (3.2 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 36m 12s
Declination
-30° 11′ 36″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
23.3 AU
Elongation from the Sun
37.58° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
35.06 AU
Eccentricity
0.9463
Inclination
148.21°
Orbital period
207.6 years
Perihelion
1.881 AU
Aphelion
68.239 AU
Longitude of ascending node
111.23°
Argument of periapsis
130.27°
Epoch · J2000
2457611.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 386.6 LD
0.9935 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.278

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
1,422
Data arc
416 days
First observed
14 January 2016
Last observed
5 March 2017
Residual RMS
0.54 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 13.8
10.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2016 A8

Named

Sources