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Comet

NEAT

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C/2003 E1 (NEAT)

NEAT is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 3.24 AU to 24.21 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 50.85 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 July 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
24.014 AU
True anomaly
175.96°
Distance from Earth
23.283 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 — 24.014 AU from the Sun NEAT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. NEAT is 23.283 AU from Earth today (3.2 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
04h 19m 52s
Declination
-13° 16′ 50″
Constellation
Eridanus
Distance from Earth
23.28 AU
Elongation from the Sun
136.68° — 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
13.726 AU
Eccentricity
0.7636
Inclination
33.54°
Orbital period
50.85 years
Perihelion
3.245 AU
Aphelion
24.206 AU
Longitude of ascending node
137.07°
Argument of periapsis
103.86°
Epoch · J2000
2452925.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 951.4 LD
2.4446 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.127

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
238
Data arc
552 days
First observed
9 March 2003
Last observed
11 September 2004
Residual RMS
0.65 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
13.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2003 E1

Named

Close approaches 2 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2056-06-09 14:54:00 Juptr 1.5469 AU 602.0 LD 9.8 km/s
2105-01-01 07:14:00 Juptr 1.936 AU 753.4 LD 16.9 km/s

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

Sources