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Comet

NEAT

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C/2002 L9 (NEAT)

NEAT is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 7.03 AU to 8,886.35 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 296,526.7 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 July 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
39.004 AU
True anomaly
129.84°
Distance from Earth
38.82 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 NEAT — 39.004 AU from the Sun NEAT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. NEAT is 38.82 AU from Earth today (5.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 37m 25s
Declination
+22° 45′ 28″
Constellation
Gemini
Distance from Earth
38.81 AU
Elongation from the Sun
100.51° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
4,446.692 AU
Eccentricity
0.9984
Inclination
68.44°
Orbital period
296,526.7 years
Perihelion
7.033 AU
Aphelion
8,886.351 AU
Longitude of ascending node
110.45°
Argument of periapsis
231.43°
Epoch · J2000
2453271.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 2,458.6 LD
6.3175 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.209

Orbit quality

Observations used
333
Data arc
4.6 years
First observed
6 June 2002
Last observed
11 January 2007
Residual RMS
0.64 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
9.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
9.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2002 L9

Named

Sources