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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
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Sunrise: 7:14 
Transit: 12:14 
Sunset: 17:14
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Comets » 

Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)

Below the horizon.  Never rises today
Alt: -29.79°   Az: 178.21°   Direction: South

Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) is in the constellation of Hydrus, at a distance of 2,340,013,210.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 03h 32m 54s and the Declination is -68° 16’ 25” (apparent coordinates). The latest observed magnitude of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) is 15.6 (data provided by COBS).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) in Hydrus on February, 15 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) in Hydrus on February, 15 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)
RA: 03h 32m 44s
Dec: -68° 21’ 27”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

03h 32m 54s
-68° 16’ 25”
23h 43m 09s
03h 16m 03s

J2000

03h 32m 44s
-68° 21’ 27”

Additional Information

Hydrus
15.6
0.5'
n/a
2025-02-14
17.82

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) is not visible from Greenwich, UK

  • C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) from Earth is currently 2,340,013,210.0 kilometers, equivalent to 15.6420221695 Astronomical Units. Light takes 2h 10m 5.444s to travel from Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) and arrive to us.

2,340,013,210.0
15.6420221695
2h 10m 5.444s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) to Earth happens on Sat Apr 5 2031 at a distance of 10.110524 Astronomical Units, or 1,512,512,813 kilometers:

Sat Apr 5 2031
1,512,512,813
10.110524

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) at epoch 13 January 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458132.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99869477
Orbit inclination i 95.55335892°
Perihelion distance q 10.94525581 AU
1,637,386,967 km
Aphelion distance Q 16,760.37726871 AU
2,507,316,756,555 km
Semi-major axis a 8,385.66126226 AU
1,254,477,071,761 km
Orbital period period 767,916.8107 years
280,481,615.1243 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2031-Jan-26 09:45:43
2,462,892.9068 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 326.33161880945°
Longitude of the ascending node node 190.0846361196°
Mean anomaly M 359.99388998659°
Mean motion n 0.00000128°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)
View Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 08 03h 32m 04s -68° 39’ 38” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 09 03h 32m 08s -68° 36’ 39” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 10 03h 32m 12s -68° 33’ 39” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 11 03h 32m 18s -68° 30’ 39” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 12 03h 32m 25s -68° 27’ 40” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 13 03h 32m 32s -68° 24’ 39” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 14 03h 32m 39s -68° 21’ 38” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 15 03h 32m 47s -68° 18’ 37” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 16 03h 32m 56s -68° 15’ 36” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 17 03h 33m 05s -68° 12’ 36” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 18 03h 33m 15s -68° 09’ 35” 17.82 Hydrus
2025 Feb 19 03h 33m 27s -68° 06’ 34” 17.81 Hydrus
2025 Feb 20 03h 33m 38s -68° 03’ 34” 17.81 Hydrus
2025 Feb 21 03h 33m 50s -68° 00’ 33” 17.81 Hydrus

Additional Resources