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Comet

Gibbs

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P/2016 R4 (Gibbs)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.229 AU
True anomaly
243.76°
Distance from Earth
6.18 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 Gibbs — 5.229 AU from the Sun Gibbs
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Gibbs is 6.18 AU from Earth today (51.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 52m 38s
Declination
-08° 24′ 34″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
6.18 AU
Elongation from the Sun
15.18° — 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
5.335 AU
Eccentricity
0.4751
Inclination
10.86°
Orbital period
12.32 years
Perihelion
2.801 AU
Aphelion
7.869 AU
Longitude of ascending node
168.35°
Argument of periapsis
174.06°
Epoch · J2000
2457653.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 697.6 LD
1.7926 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.725

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
196
Data arc
131 days
First observed
18 July 2016
Last observed
26 November 2016
Residual RMS
0.54 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 May 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
15.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2016 R4

Named

Close approaches 5 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2077-01-07 02:24:00 Juptr 1.8408 AU 716.4 LD 10.1 km/s
2089-04-28 23:22:00 Juptr 0.7336 AU 285.5 LD 6 km/s
2097-03-14 10:04:00 Satrn 1.8369 AU 714.9 LD 3 km/s
2144-01-06 00:05:00 Juptr 0.7848 AU 305.4 LD 6.3 km/s

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

Sources