418P/LINEAR
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	22 Feb 2021	19.1	2.872 AU	1.972 AU	08h20m	+14°21'	150.0°	9.9°	94°
Perihelion	16 Oct 2021	17.4	1.707 AU	2.656 AU	14h14m	-16°37'	14.1°	8.2°	121°
Today	14 May 2026	27.0	8.218 AU	9.179 AU	02h12m	+18°10'	17.0°	2.1°	266°

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. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (13.0 + 5 log[∆] + 10.0 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 418P/LINEAR are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6644380
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.7069140
    i (Inclination)                 : 5.78760
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 277.23910
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 307.66270
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 225.04352
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -4.57867
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459504.12180
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 11.47

    Epoch                           : 2026 May 13
    Reference                       : MPC191632

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.493

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   02 11 31.1   +18 06 36     9.184    8.216   15.8    1.9   267   27.0 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   02 12 00.6   +18 09 10     9.181    8.217   16.6    2.0   266   27.0 
2026-05-14 11:34 UT   02 12 14.8   +18 10 24     9.179    8.218   17.0    2.1   266   27.0 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   02 12 30.0   +18 11 44     9.177    8.218   17.4    2.1   265   27.0 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   02 12 59.4   +18 14 17     9.174    8.220   18.2    2.2   265   27.0 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   02 13 28.6   +18 16 50     9.170    8.221   19.0    2.3   264   27.0 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   02 13 57.7   +18 19 23     9.166    8.222   19.8    2.4   263   27.0 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   02 14 26.7   +18 21 55     9.162    8.223   20.6    2.5   263   27.0 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   02 14 55.6   +18 24 27     9.157    8.224   21.5    2.6   262   27.0 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   02 15 24.3   +18 26 58     9.153    8.225   22.3    2.7   262   27.0 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   02 15 53.0   +18 29 29     9.148    8.227   23.1    2.8   262   27.0 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   02 16 21.5   +18 31 60     9.143    8.228   23.9    2.9   261   27.0 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   02 16 49.8   +18 34 29     9.137    8.229   24.8    3.0   261   27.0 

    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.