About C/1997 K2
C/1997 K2 is an uncommon comet. It swings within 1.545 AU of the Sun at perihelion.
On a near-parabolic path — this may well be its one and only visit to the inner Solar System.
Uncommon comet 24 EP
C/1997 K2
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
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Score breakdown
· 4 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Near-parabolic comet +10
- Retrograde orbit +8
- Comet +6
- Catalogue designation only +0
Total score 24
10 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Comet · +6
- Retrograde orbit · +8
- Catalogue designation only
- Near-parabolic comet · +10
Trivia
Hard to believe
- Against the traffic. It goes round the Sun backwards, against the direction every planet and almost everything else travels.
What it actually is
- Its orbit family. On a near-parabolic path — this may well be its one and only visit to the inner Solar System.
- Closest approach. At its nearest it comes within 1.54 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Jupiter.
- Wild orbit. Its highly elliptical path swings between scorching and frozen each lap.
Standing on it
- Growing a tail. Once inside roughly the orbit of Mars the ice starts turning straight to gas, blowing out the coma and tail that make a comet a comet.
- Tail. Its tail always points away from the Sun, never trailing behind its motion — it is blown, not dragged.
By the numbers
- Made of. A comet is a dirty snowball: water ice, frozen carbon dioxide and dust, held together loosely enough that some simply crumble when the Sun warms them.
What's in a name
- Designation. Known only by its catalogue designation — no name yet.
Properties
- designation
- 1997 K2
- eccentricity
- 1
- full name
- C/1997 K2
- inclination
- 127.86
- moid au
- 0.869
- name
- C/1997 K2
- number only
- yes
- orbit class
- PAR
- perihelion au
- 1.545
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, C/1997 K2 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. Because it moves against the background stars, the live position panel on this page tracks where it is right now. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why C/1997 K2 is an uncommon comet
C/1997 K2 scores 24 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 10 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Comet, Retrograde orbit, Catalogue designation only and Near-parabolic comet — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.