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Comet

Sheppard

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P/2021 R8 (Sheppard)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.2 AU
True anomaly
329.63°
Distance from Earth
1.752 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 Sheppard — 2.2 AU from the Sun Sheppard
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Sheppard is 1.752 AU from Earth today (14.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 13m 22s
Declination
-18° 58′ 18″
Constellation
Capricornus
Distance from Earth
1.76 AU
Elongation from the Sun
102.36° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
3.019 AU
Eccentricity
0.294
Inclination
2.2°
Orbital period
5.24 years
Perihelion
2.131 AU
Aphelion
3.906 AU
Longitude of ascending node
167.03°
Argument of periapsis
190.79°
Epoch · J2000
2459473.5
Orbit class · ETc
Encke-type comet
Earth MOID · 438.4 LD
1.1266 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.179

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
26
Data arc
117 days
First observed
12 August 2021
Last observed
7 December 2021
Residual RMS
0.33 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 December 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
18.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2021 R8

Named

Close approaches 3 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2040-01-27 12:31:00 Juptr 1.5368 AU 598.1 LD 0.5 km/s
2087-03-18 12:09:00 Juptr 1.5764 AU 613.5 LD 0.5 km/s

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

Sources