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Comet Near-Earth

Swift

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D/1895 Q1 (Swift)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.624 AU
True anomaly
145.34°
Distance from Earth
4.999 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Swift — 4.624 AU from the Sun Swift
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Swift is 4.999 AU from Earth today (41.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 11m 29s
Declination
+14° 06′ 00″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
4.99 AU
Elongation from the Sun
62.95° — 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
3.729 AU
Eccentricity
0.652
Inclination
2.99°
Orbital period
7.2 years
Perihelion
1.298 AU
Aphelion
6.161 AU
Longitude of ascending node
171.75°
Argument of periapsis
167.78°
Epoch · J2000
2413430.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.677

Orbit quality

Observations used
182
Data arc
166 days
First observed
24 August 1895
Last observed
6 February 1896

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1895 Q1

Near-Earth Object Named

Sources