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Comet

Bok

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C/2022 J2 (Bok)

Bok is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.83 AU to 183.06 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 888.8 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 1 June 2023.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
12.344 AU
True anomaly
136.14°
Distance from Earth
11.799 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 Bok — 12.344 AU from the Sun Bok
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Bok is 11.799 AU from Earth today (1.6 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
23h 42m 09s
Declination
-37° 43′ 34″
Constellation
Sculptor
Distance from Earth
11.81 AU
Elongation from the Sun
120.62° — 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
92.442 AU
Eccentricity
0.9802
Inclination
149.09°
Orbital period
888.8 years
Perihelion
1.828 AU
Aphelion
183.057 AU
Longitude of ascending node
252.56°
Argument of periapsis
133.06°
Epoch · J2000
2459788.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 369.5 LD
0.9496 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.375

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
135
Data arc
263 days
First observed
9 May 2022
Last observed
27 January 2023
Residual RMS
0.64 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 June 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10.8
15.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2022 J2

Named

Sources