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Comet

Gibbs

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P/2011 C2 (Gibbs)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
7.985 AU
True anomaly
237.56°
Distance from Earth
7.056 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth Gibbs — 7.985 AU from the Sun Gibbs
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Gibbs is 7.056 AU from Earth today (58.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
03h 11m 19s
Declination
+25° 42′ 12″
Constellation
Aries
Distance from Earth
7.06 AU
Elongation from the Sun
157.82° — well clear of the Sun

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
7.366 AU
Eccentricity
0.2685
Inclination
10.91°
Orbital period
19.99 years
Perihelion
5.389 AU
Aphelion
9.344 AU
Longitude of ascending node
12.2°
Argument of periapsis
160.56°
Epoch · J2000
2455845.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,711.6 LD
4.398 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.957

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
184
Data arc
861 days
First observed
30 January 2011
Last observed
9 June 2013
Residual RMS
0.49 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 12.8
7.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2011 C2

Named

Close approaches 4 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2052-02-10 21:29:00 Jupiter 0.0439 AU 17.1 LD 6.9 km/s
2052-02-10 21:29:00 Juptr 0.0439 AU 17.1 LD 6.9 km/s

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

Sources