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Comet

Wierzchos

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C/2024 J2 (Wierzchos)

Wierzchos is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.81 AU to 290.47 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 1,766.7 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 11 March 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.312 AU
True anomaly
115.79°
Distance from Earth
6.143 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 Wierzchos — 6.312 AU from the Sun Wierzchos
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Wierzchos is 6.143 AU from Earth today (51.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
05h 47m 45s
Declination
-59° 03′ 22″
Constellation
Pictor
Distance from Earth
6.15 AU
Elongation from the Sun
95.3° — 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
146.138 AU
Eccentricity
0.9876
Inclination
79.3°
Orbital period
1,766.7 years
Perihelion
1.811 AU
Aphelion
290.465 AU
Longitude of ascending node
189.06°
Argument of periapsis
143.15°
Epoch · J2000
2460717.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 366.4 LD
0.9415 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.345

Orbit quality

Observations used
451
Data arc
614 days
First observed
12 March 2024
Last observed
16 November 2025
Residual RMS
0.77 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 March 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
11.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2024 J2

Named

Sources