169P/NEAT
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Today	15 Mar 2026	20.1	2.550 AU	2.573 AU	18h30m	-12°15'	77.5°	22.4°	269°
Nearest approach	11 Aug 2026	12.0	0.953 AU	0.167 AU	14h00m	+41°30'	64.2°	106.7°	88°
Perihelion	21 Sep 2026	13.9	0.604 AU	0.627 AU	09h36m	+07°12'	34.6°	109.2°	279°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the comet's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

Light curve

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations from COBS. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (16.0 + 5 log[∆] + 5.0 log[r]). An additional green curve is displayed when an increase in apparent brightness is expected due to forward scattering of sunlight, which occurs when a dust-rich comet is located between the Earth and the Sun. (See Marcus 2007)

Charts

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the comet over the same period as the light curve. The comet's current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Orbital elements

The orbital elements of 169P/NEAT are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7679210
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.6042580
    i (Inclination)                 : 11.28480
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 176.03820
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 218.13540
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 213.63158
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -6.94061
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461304.88390
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.20

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 15
    Reference                       : MPC191608

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.887

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   18 28 17.9   -12 24 24     2.612    2.565   76.3   22.1   270   20.1 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   18 29 32.3   -12 19 47     2.591    2.557   76.9   22.3   270   20.1 
2026-03-15 20:03 UT   18 30 34.3   -12 15 51     2.573    2.550   77.5   22.4   269   20.1 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   18 30 46.4   -12 15 04     2.569    2.548   77.6   22.4   269   20.1 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   18 32 00.2   -12 10 16     2.548    2.540   78.3   22.6   269   20.1 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   18 33 13.7   -12 05 22     2.526    2.531   79.0   22.7   269   20.0 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   18 34 26.9   -12 00 22     2.504    2.523   79.6   22.8   269   20.0 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   18 35 39.7   -11 55 16     2.483    2.515   80.3   23.0   268   20.0 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   18 36 52.2   -11 50 04     2.461    2.506   81.0   23.1   268   20.0 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   18 38 04.3   -11 44 46     2.439    2.498   81.7   23.2   268   19.9 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   18 39 16.1   -11 39 23     2.417    2.489   82.4   23.4   268   19.9 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   18 40 27.5   -11 33 53     2.396    2.480   83.0   23.5   267   19.9 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   18 41 38.5   -11 28 18     2.374    2.472   83.7   23.6   267   19.8 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between comet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between comet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-comet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-comet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km      
    

Orbital elements usually provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Observations contributed by observers worldwide, via COBS (Comet Observation Database) or the MPC (Minor Planet Center)
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.