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Comet

Borisov

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C/2016 R3 (Borisov)

Borisov is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.45 AU to 197.51 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 984.8 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
25.013 AU
True anomaly
165.63°
Distance from Earth
24.439 AU
As of
24 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 Borisov — 25.013 AU from the Sun Borisov
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Borisov is 24.439 AU from Earth today (3.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 16m 58s
Declination
-43° 34′ 00″
Constellation
Phoenix
Distance from Earth
24.45 AU
Elongation from the Sun
124.1° — 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
98.981 AU
Eccentricity
0.9955
Inclination
53.07°
Orbital period
984.8 years
Perihelion
0.447 AU
Aphelion
197.514 AU
Longitude of ascending node
78.67°
Argument of periapsis
118.14°
Epoch · J2000
2457646.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 106.4 LD
0.2734 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.55

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
60
Data arc
13 days
First observed
11 September 2016
Last observed
24 September 2016
Residual RMS
1 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
16.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2016 R3

Named

Sources