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Comet

Bernardinelli-Bernstein

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C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)

Bernardinelli-Bernstein is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 10.94 AU to 35,729.93 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 2,388,970.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 14 October 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
13.503 AU
True anomaly
308.31°
Distance from Earth
13.649 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 Bernardinelli-Bernstein — 13.503 AU from the Sun Bernardinelli-Bernstein
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Bernardinelli-Bernstein is 13.649 AU from Earth today (1.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 43m 10s
Declination
-73° 25′ 18″
Constellation
Volans
Distance from Earth
13.65 AU
Elongation from the Sun
79.43° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
17,870.432 AU
Eccentricity
0.9994
Inclination
95.44°
Orbital period
2,388,970.4 years
Perihelion
10.938 AU
Aphelion
35,729.925 AU
Longitude of ascending node
189.91°
Argument of periapsis
326.33°
Epoch · J2000
2459608.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 3,927.2 LD
10.0912 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.388

Orbit quality

Observations used
2,360
Data arc
15.9 years
First observed
15 November 2010
Last observed
8 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.46 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
5.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.3
5.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2014 UN271

Named

Sources