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Comet

Lovejoy

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C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)

Lovejoy is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.29 AU to 1,157.98 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 13,955.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 7 March 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
27.65 AU
True anomaly
155.34°
Distance from Earth
28.142 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 Lovejoy — 27.65 AU from the Sun Lovejoy
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Lovejoy is 28.142 AU from Earth today (3.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 04m 19s
Declination
-11° 33′ 50″
Constellation
Serpens
Distance from Earth
28.15 AU
Elongation from the Sun
59.25° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
579.637 AU
Eccentricity
0.9978
Inclination
80.3°
Orbital period
13,955.4 years
Perihelion
1.29 AU
Aphelion
1,157.984 AU
Longitude of ascending node
94.98°
Argument of periapsis
12.4°
Epoch · J2000
2457111.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 124.5 LD
0.32 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.246

Orbit quality

Observations used
7,892
Data arc
802 days
First observed
1 July 2014
Last observed
10 September 2016
Residual RMS
0.46 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 March 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
9.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.8
9.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2014 Q2

Named

Sources