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Comet

NEAT

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C/2002 J4 (NEAT)

NEAT is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 3.63 AU to 66,483.82 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 6,061,397.5 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 31 July 2025.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
42.209 AU
True anomaly
145.89°
Distance from Earth
41.593 AU
As of
25 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.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth NEAT — 42.209 AU from the Sun NEAT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. NEAT is 41.593 AU from Earth today (5.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
05h 28m 57s
Declination
+35° 24′ 39″
Constellation
Auriga
Distance from Earth
41.59 AU
Elongation from the Sun
128.53° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
33,243.727 AU
Eccentricity
0.9999
Inclination
46.53°
Orbital period
6,061,397.5 years
Perihelion
3.634 AU
Aphelion
66,483.821 AU
Longitude of ascending node
70.88°
Argument of periapsis
230.71°
Epoch · J2000
2452735.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,092.0 LD
2.8059 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.626

Orbit quality

Observations used
228
Data arc
4.41 years
First observed
4 May 2002
Last observed
1 October 2006
Residual RMS
0.81 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
31 July 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
10.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2002 J4

Named

Sources