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Comet

Rankin

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C/2020 B3 (Rankin)

Rankin is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 3.34 AU to 3,858.72 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 84,858 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 July 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
17.831 AU
True anomaly
128.78°
Distance from Earth
18.209 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 Rankin — 17.831 AU from the Sun Rankin
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Rankin is 18.209 AU from Earth today (2.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 25m 54s
Declination
-03° 05′ 14″
Constellation
Serpens
Distance from Earth
18.22 AU
Elongation from the Sun
65.81° — 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
1,931.033 AU
Eccentricity
0.9983
Inclination
20.7°
Orbital period
84,858 years
Perihelion
3.344 AU
Aphelion
3,858.722 AU
Longitude of ascending node
185.82°
Argument of periapsis
325.09°
Epoch · J2000
2458921.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 926.9 LD
2.3818 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.123

Orbit quality

Observations used
185
Data arc
194 days
First observed
13 November 2019
Last observed
25 May 2020
Residual RMS
0.54 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 July 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
14.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 B3

Named

Sources