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Comet

Borisov

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C/2019 V1 (Borisov)

Borisov is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 3.1 AU to 6,342.78 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 178,731.5 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 July 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
16.566 AU
True anomaly
128.82°
Distance from Earth
17.211 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 Borisov — 16.566 AU from the Sun Borisov
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Borisov is 17.211 AU from Earth today (2.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 19m 24s
Declination
-23° 08′ 23″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
17.22 AU
Elongation from the Sun
47.85° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
3,172.941 AU
Eccentricity
0.999
Inclination
61.87°
Orbital period
178,731.5 years
Perihelion
3.097 AU
Aphelion
6,342.785 AU
Longitude of ascending node
83.21°
Argument of periapsis
51.21°
Epoch · J2000
2458813.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 919.0 LD
2.3613 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.03

Orbit quality

Observations used
111
Data arc
482 days
First observed
27 November 2018
Last observed
23 March 2020
Residual RMS
0.93 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 July 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
14.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2019 V1

Named

Sources