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Comet

Borisov

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C/2020 Q1 (Borisov)

Borisov is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.31 AU to 117.62 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 458.6 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 7 June 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
17.111 AU
True anomaly
150.13°
Distance from Earth
17.897 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 — 17.111 AU from the Sun Borisov
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Borisov is 17.897 AU from Earth today (2.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 26m 51s
Declination
-10° 12′ 49″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
17.91 AU
Elongation from the Sun
36.29° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
59.466 AU
Eccentricity
0.9779
Inclination
142.92°
Orbital period
458.6 years
Perihelion
1.315 AU
Aphelion
117.616 AU
Longitude of ascending node
52.38°
Argument of periapsis
9.88°
Epoch · J2000
2459098.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 129.2 LD
0.332 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.041

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
280
Data arc
69 days
First observed
17 August 2020
Last observed
25 October 2020
Residual RMS
0.89 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 June 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 41.3
11.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 Q1

Named

Sources