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Comet

Pimentel

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P/2015 Q2 (Pimentel)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
12.896 AU
True anomaly
183.99°
Distance from Earth
13.495 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 Pimentel — 12.896 AU from the Sun Pimentel
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Pimentel is 13.495 AU from Earth today (1.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 05m 48s
Declination
+31° 58′ 12″
Constellation
Ursa Major
Distance from Earth
13.49 AU
Elongation from the Sun
51.4° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
7.406 AU
Eccentricity
0.7544
Inclination
146.2°
Orbital period
20.15 years
Perihelion
1.819 AU
Aphelion
12.993 AU
Longitude of ascending node
228.24°
Argument of periapsis
244.41°
Epoch · J2000
2457276.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 397.7 LD
1.0219 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.599

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
60
Data arc
77 days
First observed
24 August 2015
Last observed
9 November 2015
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
15.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2015 Q2

Named

Sources