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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 4:51 
Transit: 13:04 
Sunset: 21:17
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Comets » 

Comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR

Above the horizon.  Rise: 7:19 | Tran: 14:15 | Set: 21:12
Alt: 49.72°   Az: 186.24°   Direction: South

Comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR is in the constellation of Cancer, at a distance of 762,028,233.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 08h 07m 10s and the Declination is +11° 20’ 21” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 18.70).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR in the constellation of Cancer on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR in the constellation of Cancer on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

472P/NEAT-LINEAR
RA: 08h 05m 46s
Dec: +11° 24’ 49”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

08h 07m 10s
+11° 20’ 21”
00h 16m 25s
08h 23m 36s

J2000

08h 05m 46s
+11° 24’ 49”

Additional Information

Cancer
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.70

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

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 78.6°
Max altitude: 49.9°
Azimuth: 281.3°

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 472P/NEAT-LINEAR from Earth is currently 762,028,233.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.0938441131 Astronomical Units. Light takes 42m 21.853s to travel from comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR and arrive to us.

762,028,233.0
5.0938441131
42m 21.853s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 472P/NEAT-LINEAR from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR to Earth will happen on Monday 4 December 2045 at a distance of 2.431180 Astronomical Units, or 363,699,389 kilometers:

Monday 4 December 2045
363,699,389
2.431180

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR at epoch February, 10 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458160.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.55916586
Orbit inclination i 10.91437190°
Perihelion distance q 3.36881423 AU
503,967,437 km
Aphelion distance Q 11.91500321 AU
1,782,459,113 km
Semi-major axis a 7.64190872 AU
1,143,213,275 km
Orbital period period 21.1257 years
7,716.1595 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp July 28, 2024
2,460,519.7424 JD
Next perihelion transit September 12, 2045
2,468,235.9019 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 218.37756096268°
Longitude of the ascending node node 208.01230898378°
Mean anomaly M 249.92875676399°
Mean motion n 0.04665533°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet 472P/NEAT-LINEAR 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
Jun 27 2025 07h 58m 20s +11° 42’ 32” 18.63 Cancer
Jun 28 2025 07h 59m 30s +11° 39’ 46” 18.64 Cancer
Jun 29 2025 08h 00m 40s +11° 36’ 57” 18.65 Cancer
Jun 30 2025 08h 01m 50s +11° 34’ 05” 18.66 Cancer
Jul 01 2025 08h 03m 00s +11° 31’ 09” 18.67 Cancer
Jul 02 2025 08h 04m 11s +11° 28’ 11” 18.68 Cancer
Jul 03 2025 08h 05m 21s +11° 25’ 10” 18.68 Cancer
Jul 04 2025 08h 06m 31s +11° 22’ 07” 18.69 Cancer
Jul 05 2025 08h 07m 41s +11° 18’ 59” 18.70 Cancer
Jul 06 2025 08h 08m 51s +11° 15’ 50” 18.71 Cancer
Jul 07 2025 08h 10m 01s +11° 12’ 38” 18.72 Cancer
Jul 08 2025 08h 11m 10s +11° 09’ 24” 18.73 Cancer
Jul 09 2025 08h 12m 20s +11° 06’ 06” 18.74 Cancer
Jul 10 2025 08h 13m 30s +11° 02’ 45” 18.75 Cancer

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