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P/2013 YG46 (Spacewatch)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.621 AU
True anomaly
197.89°
Distance from Earth
5.032 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 Spacewatch — 4.621 AU from the Sun Spacewatch
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Spacewatch is 5.032 AU from Earth today (41.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 32m 38s
Declination
+22° 05′ 44″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
5.02 AU
Elongation from the Sun
60.85° — 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
3.31 AU
Eccentricity
0.4516
Inclination
8.22°
Orbital period
6.02 years
Perihelion
1.815 AU
Aphelion
4.805 AU
Longitude of ascending node
56.87°
Argument of periapsis
232.8°
Epoch · J2000
2456686.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 315.7 LD
0.8113 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.98

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
55
Data arc
56 days
First observed
26 December 2013
Last observed
20 February 2014
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
10.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2013 YG46

Named

Close approaches 10 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2038-02-14 12:35:00 Juptr 1.0247 AU 398.8 LD 5.1 km/s
2109-01-21 07:44:00 Juptr 1.6854 AU 655.9 LD 7 km/s
2120-11-17 06:02:00 Juptr 0.8083 AU 314.6 LD 3.7 km/s
2133-01-18 17:13:00 Juptr 0.6959 AU 270.8 LD 3.3 km/s
2156-12-01 18:59:00 Juptr 1.5731 AU 612.2 LD 5.6 km/s

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

Sources