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Comet Near-Earth

SOHO

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P/2003 T12 (SOHO)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.493 AU
True anomaly
185.35°
Distance from Earth
5.432 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth SOHO — 4.493 AU from the Sun SOHO
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. SOHO is 5.432 AU from Earth today (45.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 20m 47s
Declination
-07° 12′ 42″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
5.43 AU
Elongation from the Sun
17.52° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
2.568 AU
Eccentricity
0.7762
Inclination
11.48°
Orbital period
4.12 years
Perihelion
0.575 AU
Aphelion
4.561 AU
Longitude of ascending node
176.47°
Argument of periapsis
217.67°
Epoch · J2000
2456072.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 60.2 LD
0.1547 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.894

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
491
Data arc
12.57 years
First observed
9 October 2003
Last observed
5 May 2016
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 21.8
19.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2003 T12 · P/2012 A3

Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 50 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of SOHO at 2028-07-17 04:52 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-07-17 04:52 UTC close approach of SOHO. Catalogue miss distance 118.9 LD · 4.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-07-14 to 2028-07-20, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 118.9 LD · 4.57 × 10⁷ km 2028-07-17 04:52 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-07-17 04:52 UTC close approach of SOHO. Catalogue miss distance 118.9 LD · 4.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-07-14 to 2028-07-20, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2028-07-17 04:52:00 Earth 0.3054 AU 118.9 LD 30.3 km/s
2028-08-24 15:45:00 Venus 0.1315 AU 51.2 LD 18.3 km/s
2032-11-01 09:55:00 Earth 0.3996 AU 155.5 LD 21.5 km/s
2049-06-30 23:02:00 Venus 0.0653 AU 25.4 LD 20.6 km/s
2053-08-12 18:36:00 Earth 0.166 AU 64.6 LD 19.5 km/s
2058-01-02 03:10:00 Earth 0.2585 AU 100.6 LD 16 km/s
2077-01-30 21:16:00 Juptr 1.4192 AU 552.3 LD 7.5 km/s
2078-08-17 22:43:00 Earth 0.2265 AU 88.1 LD 18.3 km/s
2082-11-18 10:20:00 Earth 0.416 AU 161.9 LD 21.5 km/s
2087-02-05 15:00:00 Earth 0.2807 AU 109.3 LD 30.3 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources