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Comet

NEAT

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C/2002 P1 (NEAT)

NEAT is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 6.53 AU to 821.41 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 8,422.9 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 July 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
41.805 AU
True anomaly
134.52°
Distance from Earth
41.205 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 — 41.805 AU from the Sun NEAT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. NEAT is 41.205 AU from Earth today (5.7 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
04h 58m 58s
Declination
+52° 01′ 40″
Constellation
Auriga
Distance from Earth
41.21 AU
Elongation from the Sun
126.6° — 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
413.969 AU
Eccentricity
0.9842
Inclination
34.61°
Orbital period
8,422.9 years
Perihelion
6.53 AU
Aphelion
821.408 AU
Longitude of ascending node
310.67°
Argument of periapsis
347.76°
Epoch · J2000
2452569.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 2,149.5 LD
5.5232 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.61

Orbit quality

Observations used
102
Data arc
521 days
First observed
16 May 2002
Last observed
19 October 2003
Residual RMS
0.77 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 5
10.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2002 P1

Named

Sources