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Comet

NEAT

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166P/NEAT

NEAT is a comet in the Chiron-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 8.56 AU to 19.2 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 51.73 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
19.159 AU
True anomaly
175.17°
Distance from Earth
20.127 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 NEAT — 19.159 AU from the Sun NEAT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. NEAT is 20.127 AU from Earth today (2.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 39m 50s
Declination
+00° 15′ 13″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
20.13 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.11° — 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
13.883 AU
Eccentricity
0.3831
Inclination
15.37°
Orbital period
51.73 years
Perihelion
8.564 AU
Aphelion
19.201 AU
Longitude of ascending node
64.49°
Argument of periapsis
321.88°
Epoch · J2000
2452819.5
Orbit class · CTc
Chiron-type comet
Earth MOID · 2,950.9 LD
7.5825 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.284

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
168
Data arc
7.51 years
First observed
27 August 2001
Last observed
28 February 2009
Residual RMS
0.78 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8.8
7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 166P · 166P/2001 T4

Named

Sources