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Comet

P/2026 N2

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Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.421 AU
True anomaly
4.25°
Distance from Earth
2.087 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 P/2026 N2 — 2.421 AU from the Sun P/2026 N2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. P/2026 N2 is 2.087 AU from Earth today (17.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 51m 59s
Declination
-22° 46′ 07″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
2.1 AU
Elongation from the Sun
96.57° — 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
3.072 AU
Eccentricity
0.2123
Inclination
2.25°
Orbital period
5.39 years
Perihelion
2.42 AU
Aphelion
3.725 AU
Longitude of ascending node
96.38°
Argument of periapsis
219.03°
Epoch · J2000
2460616.5
Orbit class · ETc
Encke-type comet
Earth MOID · 547.1 LD
1.4058 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.194

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
80
Data arc
4.99 years
First observed
4 August 2021
Last observed
31 July 2026
Residual RMS
0.21 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
25 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
17.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
17.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2026 N2

Close approaches 10 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2051-06-20 13:27:00 Juptr 1.7815 AU 693.3 LD 1.5 km/s
2061-02-20 08:43:00 Juptr 1.6565 AU 644.6 LD 1.5 km/s
2111-01-26 11:28:00 Juptr 1.845 AU 718.0 LD 1.7 km/s
2120-09-29 17:57:00 Juptr 1.6242 AU 632.1 LD 1.3 km/s
2170-08-28 15:24:00 Juptr 1.9074 AU 742.3 LD 1.9 km/s
2180-05-03 05:08:00 Juptr 1.6039 AU 624.2 LD 1.2 km/s

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

Sources