169P/NEAT is a periodic comet in the Solar System roughly 5 km in diameter with a 4.2 year orbit around the Sun. It is the parent body of the alpha Capricornids meteor shower in late July that may become a major shower around the 23rd century. 169/NEAT may be related to comet P/2003 T12 (SOHO).
As of mid-September 2026, the comet was around apparent magnitude 11. On 2 August 2026 the comet passed less than 1 degree from M13, the Hercules cluster. The closest approach to Earth was on 11 August 2026 at a distance of . At perihelion on 21 September 2026 the solar elongation was 34 degrees at a magnitude of approximately 11.
+169P/NEAT closest Earth approach on 2026-Aug-11 Date & time ofclosest approach Earth distance(AU) Sun distance(AU) Velocitywrt Earth(km/s) Velocitywrt Sun(km/s) Uncertaintyregion(3-sigma) Solarelongation Reference 2026-Aug-11 19:34 19.9 39.0 ± 33 km 64° Horizons
Physical characteristics 169P is a low activity comet roughly about in diameter, with a rotation period lasting about 8.4 hours. It could have originated from the main asteroid belt.
Orbit It came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 9 July 2022 and on 13 July 2022 passed from Venus. On 11 August 2026, it passed from Earth and reached perihelion on 21 September 2026. It will next come to perihelion on 1 December 2030.
169P has a similar stable orbit with the smaller body P/ (SOHO), both avoiding close encounters with Jupiter. It is possible that both comets likely fragmented from a parent body a bit over 2,000 years ago. A further fragmentation even about 4,500 to 5,000 years ago could have produced the meteors of the alpha Capricornids meteor shower. The total estimated mass of the meteors is similar to that of the surviving comet.
References
External links
at the Minor Planet Center database 169P/NEAT at the Comet OBServation database (COBS) 169P/NEAT at Seiichi Yoshida's website 169P/NEAT at Gideon van Buitenen's website