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Comet

NEAT

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C/2003 J1 (NEAT)

NEAT is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 5.13 AU to 1,150.23 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 13,884.8 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
40.636 AU
True anomaly
139.07°
Distance from Earth
40.704 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 — 40.636 AU from the Sun NEAT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. NEAT is 40.704 AU from Earth today (5.6 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 14m 50s
Declination
-05° 24′ 23″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
40.7 AU
Elongation from the Sun
85.53° — 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
577.679 AU
Eccentricity
0.9911
Inclination
98.31°
Orbital period
13,884.8 years
Perihelion
5.125 AU
Aphelion
1,150.233 AU
Longitude of ascending node
122.03°
Argument of periapsis
196.03°
Epoch · J2000
2452839.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,612.0 LD
4.142 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.396

Orbit quality

Observations used
80
Data arc
423 days
First observed
29 April 2003
Last observed
25 June 2004
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
11.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2003 J1

Named

Sources