Comet 271P/van Houten-Lemmon is an object whose orbit features a relatively short period, low inclination, and is controlled by Jupiter's gravitational effects. NASA JPL has not classified 271P/van Houten-Lemmon as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.
271P/van Houten-Lemmon orbits the sun every 6,730 days (18.43 years), coming as close as 4.25 AU and reaching as far as 9.70 AU from the sun.
271P/van Houten-Lemmon's orbit is 3.26 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is an extremely wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.
Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.
271P/van Houten-Lemmon's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 24, 1960. It was last officially observed on Jan. 20, 2015. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 96 observations used to determine its orbit.
The position of 271P/van Houten-Lemmon is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.