Comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR is a periodic comet that takes 5.47 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. It was first discovered on November 27, 1869, by Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel and later independently by Lewis Swift on October 11, 1880. After 1908, the comet was considered lost due to unsuccessful attempts to observe it during successive perihelion passages. However, on December 7, 2001, the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program discovered a new object, which was later confirmed to be the same comet. With a perihelion distance of 1.6 astronomical units and an aphelion distance of 5.3 astronomical units, the comet's orbit takes it from beyond Jupiter's orbit to just inside Earth's orbit.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR
Comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR is in the constellation of Ophiuchus, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR to Earth will happen on Thursday 12 November 2026 at a distance of 0.401211 Astronomical Units, or 60,020,365 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR at epoch November, 01 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458789.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.57742214 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 14.43558223° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.38970845 AU 207,897,426 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.18758094 AU 776,051,064 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.28864470 AU 491,974,245 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.9639 years 2,178.3309 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | November 26, 2020 2,459,179.5141 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | November 13, 2026 2,461,357.8451 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 167.76737396335° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 238.98702367228° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 295.54464870958° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.16526415°/day |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 07 2025 | 17h 12m 33s | -14° 37’ 41” | 29.66 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 08 2025 | 17h 11m 50s | -14° 36’ 12” | 29.65 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 09 2025 | 17h 11m 07s | -14° 34’ 46” | 29.65 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 10 2025 | 17h 10m 26s | -14° 33’ 22” | 29.64 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 11 2025 | 17h 09m 45s | -14° 32’ 03” | 29.63 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 12 2025 | 17h 09m 05s | -14° 30’ 45” | 29.63 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 13 2025 | 17h 08m 26s | -14° 29’ 31” | 29.62 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 14 2025 | 17h 07m 47s | -14° 28’ 19” | 29.61 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 15 2025 | 17h 07m 10s | -14° 27’ 12” | 29.61 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 16 2025 | 17h 06m 33s | -14° 26’ 06” | 29.60 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 17 2025 | 17h 05m 57s | -14° 25’ 03” | 29.60 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 18 2025 | 17h 05m 22s | -14° 24’ 04” | 29.59 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 19 2025 | 17h 04m 47s | -14° 23’ 09” | 29.59 | Ophiuchus |
| Jul 20 2025 | 17h 04m 14s | -14° 22’ 16” | 29.58 | Ophiuchus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR?: Key information on where to find comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR in the sky.
- Distance of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR from Earth: Find out how far comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of comet 11P/Tempel-Swift-LINEAR with respect to the major Solar System objects.