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Comet

Barros

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C/2017 D2 (Barros)

Barros is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.49 AU to 2,758.26 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 51,286.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 12 December 2024.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
22.558 AU
True anomaly
141.37°
Distance from Earth
22.111 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 Barros — 22.558 AU from the Sun Barros
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Barros is 22.111 AU from Earth today (3.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
06h 16m 37s
Declination
+51° 53′ 53″
Constellation
Auriga
Distance from Earth
22.11 AU
Elongation from the Sun
115.88° — 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
1,380.371 AU
Eccentricity
0.9982
Inclination
31.27°
Orbital period
51,286.4 years
Perihelion
2.486 AU
Aphelion
2,758.257 AU
Longitude of ascending node
331.04°
Argument of periapsis
334.34°
Epoch · J2000
2457975.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 585.5 LD
1.5045 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.674

Orbit quality

Observations used
433
Data arc
594 days
First observed
23 February 2017
Last observed
10 October 2018
Residual RMS
0.61 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
12 December 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 5.3
13.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2017 D2

Named

Sources