Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

LINEAR

Add to an observing list or journal →

P/2004 FY140 (LINEAR)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.111 AU
True anomaly
7.66°
Distance from Earth
5.103 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth LINEAR — 4.111 AU from the Sun LINEAR
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. LINEAR is 5.103 AU from Earth today (42.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 04m 22s
Declination
-14° 18′ 17″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
5.1 AU
Elongation from the Sun
4.08° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
4.952 AU
Eccentricity
0.1709
Inclination
2.13°
Orbital period
11.02 years
Perihelion
4.106 AU
Aphelion
5.799 AU
Longitude of ascending node
327.29°
Argument of periapsis
239.76°
Epoch · J2000
2453133.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,207.5 LD
3.1028 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.972

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
52
Data arc
107 days
First observed
27 March 2004
Last observed
12 July 2004
Residual RMS
0.37 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2004 FY140

Named

Sources