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public  Tevaitoa, French Polynesia Tevaitoa, French Polynesia  ⓘ
TimezonePacific/Tahiti
Sunrise: 6:36 
Transit: 12:11 
Sunset: 17:46
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Comets » 

Comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 30.93°   Az: 188.99°   Direction: South

Comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF) is in the constellation of Pavo, at a distance of 1,074,747,201.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 21h 15m 48s and the Declination is -73° 39’ 14” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 17.01.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF) in the constellation of Pavo on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF) in the constellation of Pavo 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 C/2020 V2 (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.

C/2020 V2 (ZTF)
RA: 21h 13m 12s
Dec: -73° 45’ 38”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

21h 15m 48s
-73° 39’ 14”
01h 53m 49s
23h 09m 37s

J2000

21h 13m 12s
-73° 45’ 38”

Additional Information

Pavo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
17.01

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 C/2020 V2 (ZTF) from Tevaitoa, French Polynesia (all times relative to the local timezone Pacific/Tahiti):

Today comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF) is circumpolar and transits at 11:59 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 33.1°.

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 C/2020 V2 (ZTF) from Earth is currently 1,074,747,201.0 kilometers, equivalent to 7.1842412995 Astronomical Units. Light takes 59m 44.971s to travel from comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF) and arrive to us.

1,074,747,201.0
7.1842412995
59m 44.971s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2020 V2 (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 C/2020 V2 (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 C/2020 V2 (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 C/2020 V2 (ZTF) to Earth happened on Sunday 17 September 2023 at a distance of 1.854744 Astronomical Units, or 277,465,826 kilometers:

Sunday 17 September 2023
277,465,826
1.854744

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 C/2020 V2 (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 C/2020 V2 (ZTF) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/2020 V2 (ZTF) at epoch August, 27 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459819.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00094983
Orbit inclination i 131.61104352°
Perihelion distance q 2.22800867 AU
333,305,354 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp May 8, 2023
2,460,073.0482 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 162.42111686819°
Longitude of the ascending node node 212.37058894721°
Mean anomaly M -0.002199672298192°
Mean motion n 0.00000868°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2020 V2 (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 C/2020 V2 (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
Jul 04 2025 21h 31m 23s -72° 58’ 46” 16.98 Pavo
Jul 05 2025 21h 29m 27s -73° 04’ 40” 16.98 Pavo
Jul 06 2025 21h 27m 28s -73° 10’ 24” 16.98 Pavo
Jul 07 2025 21h 25m 27s -73° 15’ 57” 16.99 Pavo
Jul 08 2025 21h 23m 24s -73° 21’ 21” 16.99 Pavo
Jul 09 2025 21h 21m 19s -73° 26’ 35” 16.99 Pavo
Jul 10 2025 21h 19m 12s -73° 31’ 38” 17.00 Pavo
Jul 11 2025 21h 17m 03s -73° 36’ 31” 17.00 Pavo
Jul 12 2025 21h 14m 53s -73° 41’ 11” 17.01 Pavo
Jul 13 2025 21h 12m 41s -73° 45’ 41” 17.01 Pavo
Jul 14 2025 21h 10m 27s -73° 49’ 58” 17.01 Pavo
Jul 15 2025 21h 08m 11s -73° 54’ 05” 17.02 Pavo
Jul 16 2025 21h 05m 54s -73° 57’ 59” 17.02 Pavo
Jul 17 2025 21h 03m 36s -74° 01’ 42” 17.03 Pavo

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