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Comet

Bradfield

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C/1980 Y1 (Bradfield)

Bradfield is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.26 AU to 1,891.96 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 29,101.9 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
71.172 AU
True anomaly
173.2°
Distance from Earth
71.189 AU
As of
25 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 Bradfield — 71.172 AU from the Sun Bradfield
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Bradfield is 71.189 AU from Earth today (9.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 07m 37s
Declination
-14° 28′ 00″
Constellation
Capricornus
Distance from Earth
71.19 AU
Elongation from the Sun
88.38° — 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
946.11 AU
Eccentricity
0.9997
Inclination
138.59°
Orbital period
29,101.9 years
Perihelion
0.26 AU
Aphelion
1,891.961 AU
Longitude of ascending node
115.35°
Argument of periapsis
358.29°
Epoch · J2000
2444630.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 233.8 LD
0.6007 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.468

Orbit quality

Observations used
32
Data arc
405 days
First observed
18 July 1980
Last observed
27 August 1981
Residual RMS
0.75 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1980 Y1

Named

Sources