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Comet

Leonard

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P/2018 VN2 (Leonard)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.19 AU
True anomaly
26.07°
Distance from Earth
1.203 AU
As of
22 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth Leonard — 2.19 AU from the Sun Leonard
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Leonard is 1.203 AU from Earth today (10.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 56m 10s
Declination
+20° 51′ 48″
Constellation
Aries
Distance from Earth
1.2 AU
Elongation from the Sun
170.49° — near opposition — up most of the night

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
4.062 AU
Eccentricity
0.4787
Inclination
18.25°
Orbital period
8.19 years
Perihelion
2.118 AU
Aphelion
6.006 AU
Longitude of ascending node
226.45°
Argument of periapsis
138.86°
Epoch · J2000
2459847.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 448.3 LD
1.1519 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.754

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
271
Data arc
15.87 years
First observed
27 November 2010
Last observed
12 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.71 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 19.8
10.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2018 VN2 · P/2010 W10 · P/2026 M2

Named

Close approaches 6 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2065-03-25 18:09:00 Juptr 1.2307 AU 478.9 LD 8.7 km/s
2088-11-30 05:56:00 Juptr 1.3083 AU 509.2 LD 9 km/s
2170-07-20 10:12:00 Juptr 1.7682 AU 688.2 LD 5.8 km/s
2194-03-31 22:38:00 Juptr 1.7886 AU 696.1 LD 5.8 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources