161P/Hartley-IRAS (2026)

Capture

Seestar s50 Pro 105 stacks, 6 Oct 2026

Date

6 October 2026

Location

Camden, NSW

Original

1806 × 3212 px

161P/Hartley-IRAS (2026) is a Halley-type comet in a retrograde orbit with an orbital period of 21 years. The comet was recovered from the Siding Spring Observatory by Hirohisa Sato on 18 July 2026 at nearly 2–3 times fainter than predicted from its previous apparition in 2005. As of October 2026, the comet is around apparent magnitude 12. It reached opposition on 27 September 2026. The closest approach to Earth was on 2 October 2026 at a distance of 75.5 million km.

See it in the comets gallery