11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	28 Sep 2026	17.7	1.463 AU	0.561 AU	01h52m	+39°38'	137.0°	27.9°	215°
Perihelion	9 Nov 2026	16.6	1.388 AU	0.402 AU	02h47m	+26°52'	169.7°	7.3°	164°
Nearest approach	11 Nov 2026	16.6	1.388 AU	0.401 AU	02h49m	+25°47'	170.8°	6.5°	154°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the comet's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

Light curve

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations from COBS. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 16.5 + 5 log[∆] + 14.7 log[r]). An additional green curve is displayed when an increase in apparent brightness is expected due to forward scattering of sunlight, which occurs when a dust-rich comet is located between the Earth and the Sun. (See Marcus 2007)

Charts

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the comet over the same period as the light curve. The comet's current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Orbital elements

The orbital elements of 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5770790
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.3875560
    i (Inclination)                 : 14.43060
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 238.85040
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 168.06820
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 227.28474
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.95335
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461354.46170
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.94

    Epoch                           : 2026 Sep 28
    Reference                       : MPC xxxxx

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.842

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   01 49 52.3   +39 35 42     0.573    1.469  135.9   28.3   216   17.8 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   01 51 22.7   +39 37 28     0.567    1.466  136.5   28.1   216   17.7 
2026-09-28 20:57 UT   01 52 41.3   +39 38 26     0.561    1.463  137.0   27.9   215   17.7 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   01 52 52.8   +39 38 32     0.560    1.462  137.0   27.8   215   17.7 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   01 54 22.4   +39 38 51     0.554    1.459  137.6   27.6   215   17.7 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   01 55 51.7   +39 38 25     0.547    1.456  138.2   27.3   214   17.6 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   01 57 20.5   +39 37 12     0.541    1.452  138.8   27.0   214   17.6 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   01 58 48.8   +39 35 11     0.535    1.449  139.4   26.7   213   17.5 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   02 00 16.5   +39 32 22     0.529    1.446  140.0   26.4   213   17.5 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   02 01 43.8   +39 28 42     0.523    1.443  140.7   26.1   212   17.5 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   02 03 10.5   +39 24 11     0.517    1.440  141.3   25.7   212   17.4 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   02 04 36.6   +39 18 47     0.511    1.437  141.9   25.4   211   17.4 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   02 06 02.1   +39 12 29     0.506    1.434  142.6   25.0   211   17.4 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between comet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between comet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-comet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-comet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km      
    

Orbital elements usually provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Observations contributed by observers worldwide, via COBS (Comet Observation Database) or the MPC (Minor Planet Center)
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.