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Comets » 

Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 10:49 | Tran: 16:43 | Set: 22:36
Alt: -36.53°   Az: 334.06°   Direction: North-North-West

Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) is in the constellation of Sextans, at a distance of 614,706,655.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 10h 42m 20s and the Declination is -00° 53’ 50” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 33.18).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) in the constellation of Sextans on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) in the constellation of Sextans 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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) 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.

P/2021 N1 (ZTF)
RA: 10h 41m 02s
Dec: -00° 45’ 48”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

10h 42m 20s
-00° 53’ 50”
10h 37m 41s
21h 20m 01s

J2000

10h 41m 02s
-00° 45’ 48”

Additional Information

Sextans
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
33.18

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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 90.9°
Max altitude: 37.6°
Azimuth: 269.1°

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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) from Earth is currently 614,706,655.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.1090601900 Astronomical Units. Light takes 34m 10.441s to travel from comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) and arrive to us.

614,706,655.0
4.1090601900
34m 10.441s

The following graph shows the distance of comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) 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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) 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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) 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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) to Earth will happen on Tuesday 29 August 2073 at a distance of 0.122518 Astronomical Units, or 18,328,381 kilometers:

Tuesday 29 August 2073
18,328,381
0.122518

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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF), 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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) at epoch July, 06 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459402.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.67679260
Orbit inclination i 11.50560974°
Perihelion distance q 0.96214666 AU
143,935,092 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.99159485 AU
746,731,962 km
Semi-major axis a 2.97687075 AU
445,333,527 km
Orbital period period 5.1363 years
1,876.0240 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp June 6, 2021
2,459,372.0541 JD
Next perihelion transit July 26, 2026
2,461,248.0782 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 21.189770473752°
Longitude of the ascending node node 301.15844868871°
Mean anomaly M 5.842412895812°
Mean motion n 0.19189520°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) 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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) 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 29 2025 10h 37m 26s -00° 32’ 50” 33.24 Sextans
Jun 30 2025 10h 38m 06s -00° 35’ 33” 33.23 Sextans
Jul 01 2025 10h 38m 46s -00° 38’ 20” 33.22 Sextans
Jul 02 2025 10h 39m 27s -00° 41’ 13” 33.22 Sextans
Jul 03 2025 10h 40m 08s -00° 44’ 10” 33.21 Sextans
Jul 04 2025 10h 40m 50s -00° 47’ 12” 33.20 Sextans
Jul 05 2025 10h 41m 33s -00° 50’ 19” 33.19 Sextans
Jul 06 2025 10h 42m 16s -00° 53’ 31” 33.18 Sextans
Jul 07 2025 10h 42m 59s -00° 56’ 47” 33.17 Sextans
Jul 08 2025 10h 43m 43s -01° 00’ 09” 33.16 Sextans
Jul 09 2025 10h 44m 28s -01° 03’ 34” 33.15 Sextans
Jul 10 2025 10h 45m 13s -01° 07’ 05” 33.14 Sextans
Jul 11 2025 10h 45m 59s -01° 10’ 41” 33.13 Sextans
Jul 12 2025 10h 46m 45s -01° 14’ 20” 33.13 Sextans

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