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Comet

NEAT

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215P/NEAT

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.365 AU
True anomaly
257.63°
Distance from Earth
5.354 AU
As of
22 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth NEAT — 4.365 AU from the Sun NEAT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. NEAT is 5.354 AU from Earth today (44.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 11m 12s
Declination
-09° 17′ 56″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
5.35 AU
Elongation from the Sun
5.27° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
4.348 AU
Eccentricity
0.195
Inclination
10.06°
Orbital period
9.07 years
Perihelion
3.5 AU
Aphelion
5.196 AU
Longitude of ascending node
61.16°
Argument of periapsis
255.41°
Epoch · J2000
2457414.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 976.0 LD
2.5078 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.962

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,058
Data arc
31.62 years
First observed
11 September 1994
Last observed
26 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.6 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 September 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
8.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 12.3
8.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 215P · 215P/2002 O8 · 215P/2009 B5

Named

Close approaches 13 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2054-08-26 14:44:00 Juptr 1.2402 AU 482.6 LD 3.2 km/s
2096-02-09 05:03:00 Juptr 0.496 AU 193.0 LD 3 km/s
2096-02-09 05:03:00 Jupiter 0.496 AU 193.0 LD 3 km/s
2105-07-15 20:21:00 Jupiter 0.0872 AU 34.0 LD 4.6 km/s
2105-07-15 20:21:00 Juptr 0.0872 AU 34.0 LD 4.6 km/s
2139-04-06 22:40:00 Jupiter 0.0588 AU 22.9 LD 5.7 km/s
2139-04-06 22:40:00 Juptr 0.0588 AU 22.9 LD 5.7 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources