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Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 12:36 | Tran: 18:35 | Set: 0:37
Alt: -44.32°   Az: 321.14°   Direction: North-West

Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) is in the constellation of Sextans, at a distance of 572,974,675.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 10h 25m 26s and the Declination is +00° 05’ 10” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) is 33.40 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) in Sextans on June, 06 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) in Sextans on June, 06 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

P/2021 N1 (ZTF)
RA: 10h 24m 08s
Dec: +00° 12’ 56”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

10h 25m 26s
+00° 05’ 10”
10h 13m 18s
20h 38m 45s

J2000

10h 24m 08s
+00° 12’ 56”

Additional Information

Sextans
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
33.40

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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) from Culpeper, United States (all times relative to the local timezone America/New_York):

Azimuth: 89.9°
Max altitude: 51.6°
Azimuth: 270.1°

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 572,974,675.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.8300991339 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31m 51.238s to travel from Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) and arrive to us.

572,974,675.0
3.8300991339
31m 51.238s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) 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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) 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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) to Earth happens on Tue Aug 29 2073 at a distance of 0.122518 Astronomical Units, or 18,328,381 kilometers:

Tue Aug 29 2073
18,328,381
0.122518

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 P/2021 N1 (ZTF), 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 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 06 July 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 2021-Jun-06 13:17:58
2,459,372.0541 JD
Next perihelion transit 2026-Jul-26 13:52
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
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF)
View Comet P/2021 N1 (ZTF) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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
2025 May 30 10h 22m 55s +00° 07’ 26” 33.44 Sextans
2025 May 31 10h 23m 13s +00° 07’ 26” 33.43 Sextans
2025 Jun 01 10h 23m 32s +00° 07’ 19” 33.43 Sextans
2025 Jun 02 10h 23m 51s +00° 07’ 08” 33.42 Sextans
2025 Jun 03 10h 24m 12s +00° 06’ 51” 33.42 Sextans
2025 Jun 04 10h 24m 33s +00° 06’ 28” 33.41 Sextans
2025 Jun 05 10h 24m 55s +00° 05’ 59” 33.40 Sextans
2025 Jun 06 10h 25m 18s +00° 05’ 24” 33.40 Sextans
2025 Jun 07 10h 25m 42s +00° 04’ 45” 33.39 Sextans
2025 Jun 08 10h 26m 06s +00° 03’ 58” 33.39 Sextans
2025 Jun 09 10h 26m 31s +00° 03’ 07” 33.38 Sextans
2025 Jun 10 10h 26m 57s +00° 02’ 10” 33.37 Sextans
2025 Jun 11 10h 27m 24s +00° 01’ 08” 33.37 Sextans
2025 Jun 12 10h 27m 52s +00° 00’ 00” 33.36 Sextans

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