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Comet

Boattini

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P/2008 O3 (Boattini)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
10.483 AU
True anomaly
210.92°
Distance from Earth
11.377 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.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth Boattini — 10.483 AU from the Sun Boattini
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Boattini is 11.377 AU from Earth today (1.6 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 26m 23s
Declination
-24° 46′ 33″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
11.38 AU
Elongation from the Sun
24.58° — 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
8.187 AU
Eccentricity
0.695
Inclination
32.27°
Orbital period
23.42 years
Perihelion
2.497 AU
Aphelion
13.876 AU
Longitude of ascending node
47.57°
Argument of periapsis
340.98°
Epoch · J2000
2454706.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 591.9 LD
1.521 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.161

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
54
Data arc
73 days
First observed
29 July 2008
Last observed
10 October 2008
Residual RMS
0.5 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
5.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 28.5
5.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2008 O3

Named

Sources