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Comet

Rankin

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C/2021 V1 (Rankin)

Rankin is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 3.01 AU to 1,355.78 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 17,709 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 14 February 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
12.908 AU
True anomaly
122.44°
Distance from Earth
13.639 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 — 12.908 AU from the Sun Rankin
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Rankin is 13.639 AU from Earth today (1.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 38m 32s
Declination
-38° 56′ 26″
Constellation
Centaurus
Distance from Earth
13.64 AU
Elongation from the Sun
41.3° — 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
679.397 AU
Eccentricity
0.9956
Inclination
71.44°
Orbital period
17,709 years
Perihelion
3.014 AU
Aphelion
1,355.781 AU
Longitude of ascending node
207.65°
Argument of periapsis
195.1°
Epoch · J2000
2459534.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 795.1 LD
2.0431 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.692

Orbit quality

Observations used
67
Data arc
124 days
First observed
2 October 2021
Last observed
3 February 2022
Residual RMS
0.54 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 February 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
15.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2021 V1

Named

Sources