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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:39  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 20:14
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Comets » 

Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR)

Altitude: 15.2°   Azimuth: 357.3°   Direction: North

Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) is currently in the constellation of Ursa Major, at a distance of 1,410,634,224 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) in Ursa Major on April,27 2024
Map showing Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) in Ursa Major on April, 27 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) is 09h 56m 19s and the Declination is +53° 37’ 55” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) is 20.02 (JPL).

09h 56m 19s
+53° 37’ 55”
Ursa Major
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.02

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) is circumpolar and transits at 19:31 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 87.8°.
  • C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the North direction at an altitude of 15° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) 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.

Additional Resources

Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of C/2020 J1 (SONEAR)
Map showing Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) in Ursa Major on April, 27 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2020 J1 (SONEAR)
RA: 09h 56m 19s
Dec: +53° 37’ 55”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) from Earth is currently 1,410,634,224 kilometers, equivalent to 9.429507 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 18 minutes and 25.3693 seconds to travel from Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) and arrive to us.

1,410,634,224
9.429507
1 hours, 18 minutes and 25.3693 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) 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/2020 J1 (SONEAR) 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/2020 J1 (SONEAR) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) to Earth happens on Mon May 17 2021 at a distance of 2.365787 Astronomical Units, or 353,916,701 kilometers:

Mon May 17 2021
353,916,701
2.365787

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

Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR), 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/2020 J1 (SONEAR) as a function of time

Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) at epoch 13 October 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459501.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00033316
Orbit inclination i 142.29530545°
Perihelion distance q 3.35516120 AU
501,924,972 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-Apr-18 14:29:54
2,459,323.1041 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 341.75540006913°
Longitude of the ascending node node 226.58268154202°
Mean anomaly M 0.00017397649330717°
Mean motion n 0.00000098°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR)
View Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Apr 20 09h 59m 27s +53° 56’ 48” 19.98 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 21 09h 58m 59s +53° 54’ 23” 19.98 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 22 09h 58m 32s +53° 51’ 54” 19.99 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 23 09h 58m 05s +53° 49’ 22” 20.00 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 24 09h 57m 38s +53° 46’ 46” 20.00 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 25 09h 57m 14s +53° 44’ 08” 20.01 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 26 09h 56m 48s +53° 41’ 29” 20.02 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 27 09h 56m 26s +53° 38’ 45” 20.02 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 28 09h 56m 03s +53° 36’ 00” 20.03 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 29 09h 55m 41s +53° 33’ 11” 20.04 Ursa Major
2024 Apr 30 09h 55m 18s +53° 30’ 20” 20.04 Ursa Major
2024 May 01 09h 54m 59s +53° 27’ 29” 20.05 Ursa Major
2024 May 02 09h 54m 38s +53° 24’ 33” 20.06 Ursa Major
2024 May 03 09h 54m 20s +53° 21’ 37” 20.06 Ursa Major