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Comet

MASTER

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C/2020 F5 (MASTER)

MASTER is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 4.32 AU to 1,758.19 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 26,161.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 31 October 2024.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
14.56 AU
True anomaly
114.17°
Distance from Earth
13.9 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 MASTER — 14.56 AU from the Sun MASTER
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. MASTER is 13.9 AU from Earth today (1.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 00m 02s
Declination
+60° 55′ 19″
Constellation
Cassiopeia
Distance from Earth
13.9 AU
Elongation from the Sun
130.16° — 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
881.256 AU
Eccentricity
0.9951
Inclination
52.26°
Orbital period
26,161.4 years
Perihelion
4.325 AU
Aphelion
1,758.188 AU
Longitude of ascending node
350.53°
Argument of periapsis
311°
Epoch · J2000
2459665.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,367.7 LD
3.5145 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.582

Orbit quality

Observations used
1,861
Data arc
4.55 years
First observed
16 March 2020
Last observed
4 October 2024
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
31 October 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.2
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 7.8
7.2

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 F5

Named

Sources