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Comet

SWAN

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C/2020 F8 (SWAN)

SWAN is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.43 AU to 5,402.57 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 140,415.6 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 13 January 2025.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
18.965 AU
True anomaly
162.7°
Distance from Earth
18.356 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 SWAN — 18.965 AU from the Sun SWAN
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. SWAN is 18.356 AU from Earth today (2.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
04h 27m 34s
Declination
-27° 37′ 54″
Constellation
Eridanus
Distance from Earth
18.36 AU
Elongation from the Sun
126.69° — well clear of the Sun

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
2,701.499 AU
Eccentricity
0.9998
Inclination
110.8°
Orbital period
140,415.6 years
Perihelion
0.43 AU
Aphelion
5,402.567 AU
Longitude of ascending node
260.03°
Argument of periapsis
68.2°
Epoch · J2000
2458963.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 75.3 LD
0.1935 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.287

Orbit quality

Observations used
376
Data arc
213 days
First observed
22 October 2019
Last observed
22 May 2020
Residual RMS
0.73 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
13 January 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
11.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 F8

Named

Sources