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Comet

Skiff

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P/2005 S2 (Skiff)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.824 AU
True anomaly
308.49°
Distance from Earth
6.26 AU
As of
24 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth Skiff — 6.824 AU from the Sun Skiff
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Skiff is 6.26 AU from Earth today (52.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 16m 46s
Declination
-10° 34′ 32″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
6.26 AU
Elongation from the Sun
120.71° — 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
7.978 AU
Eccentricity
0.1981
Inclination
3.14°
Orbital period
22.54 years
Perihelion
6.398 AU
Aphelion
9.559 AU
Longitude of ascending node
161.21°
Argument of periapsis
229.74°
Epoch · J2000
2455018.5
Orbit class · CTc
Chiron-type comet
Earth MOID · 2,103.7 LD
5.4055 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.076

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
110
Data arc
22.09 years
First observed
7 September 2004
Last observed
9 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.64 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.5
7.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2005 S2 · P/2025 OZ695

Named

Close approaches 2 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2118-09-24 22:26:00 Juptr 1.276 AU 496.6 LD 0.7 km/s

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

Sources