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Comet

Iwamoto

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C/2020 A2 (Iwamoto)

Iwamoto is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.98 AU to 2,119.84 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 34,531.8 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 31 December 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
19.198 AU
True anomaly
154.03°
Distance from Earth
18.686 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 Iwamoto — 19.198 AU from the Sun Iwamoto
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Iwamoto is 18.686 AU from Earth today (2.6 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
05h 41m 17s
Declination
-13° 03′ 57″
Constellation
Lepus
Distance from Earth
18.68 AU
Elongation from the Sun
119.91° — 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
1,060.411 AU
Eccentricity
0.9991
Inclination
120.75°
Orbital period
34,531.8 years
Perihelion
0.978 AU
Aphelion
2,119.843 AU
Longitude of ascending node
286.38°
Argument of periapsis
68.21°
Epoch · J2000
2458902.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 121.6 LD
0.3126 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.622

Orbit quality

Observations used
529
Data arc
104 days
First observed
9 January 2020
Last observed
22 April 2020
Residual RMS
0.75 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
31 December 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10.8
15.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 A2

Named

Sources