About C/1684 N1
C/1684 N1 is a common comet. It swings within 0.958 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.
Common comet 20 EP
C/1684 N1
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
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Score breakdown
· 4 badgesCommon 22 pts → Uncommon
- Near-parabolic comet +10
- Comet +6
- Steeply tilted orbit (i > 40°) +4
- Catalogue designation only +0
Total score 20
2 more points to reach Uncommon.
Badges
- Comet · +6
- Catalogue designation only
- Near-parabolic comet · +10
- Steeply tilted orbit (i > 40°) · +4
Trivia
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 0.96 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Earth.
- Wild orbit. Its highly elliptical path swings between scorching and frozen each lap.
- Steeply tilted. Its orbit is tipped 65° out of the flat plane the planets share — it spends most of its time well above or below them.
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
- 1684 N1
- eccentricity
- 1
- full name
- C/1684 N1
- inclination
- 65.42
- name
- C/1684 N1
- number only
- yes
- orbit class
- PAR
- perihelion au
- 0.958
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, C/1684 N1 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/1684 N1 is a common comet
C/1684 N1 scores 20 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Comet, Catalogue designation only, Near-parabolic comet and Steeply tilted orbit (i > 40°) — 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.