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Comet

NEAT

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C/2002 K4 (NEAT)

NEAT is a comet in the Halley-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.76 AU to 32.29 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 73.39 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
29.777 AU
True anomaly
169.8°
Distance from Earth
29.889 AU
As of
24 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 — 29.777 AU from the Sun NEAT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. NEAT is 29.889 AU from Earth today (4.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 31m 03s
Declination
+04° 19′ 48″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
29.88 AU
Elongation from the Sun
82.94° — well clear of the Sun

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
17.528 AU
Eccentricity
0.8423
Inclination
94.06°
Orbital period
73.39 years
Perihelion
2.765 AU
Aphelion
32.292 AU
Longitude of ascending node
308.1°
Argument of periapsis
24.43°
Epoch · J2000
2452467.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 705.7 LD
1.8132 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.157

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
243
Data arc
128 days
First observed
27 May 2002
Last observed
2 October 2002
Residual RMS
0.8 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
11.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2002 K4

Named

Sources