Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

PANSTARRS

Add to an observing list or journal →

516P/PANSTARRS

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.499 AU
True anomaly
20.54°
Distance from Earth
3.482 AU
As of
22 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth PANSTARRS — 2.499 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 3.482 AU from Earth today (29.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 26m 52s
Declination
-06° 01′ 31″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
3.48 AU
Elongation from the Sun
7.92° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
3.637 AU
Eccentricity
0.3235
Inclination
4.01°
Orbital period
6.94 years
Perihelion
2.461 AU
Aphelion
4.813 AU
Longitude of ascending node
105.18°
Argument of periapsis
73.55°
Epoch · J2000
2460119.5
Orbit class · ETc
Encke-type comet
Earth MOID · 571.3 LD
1.4679 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.009

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
96
Data arc
12.91 years
First observed
15 April 2013
Last observed
14 March 2026
Residual RMS
0.54 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
17.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
17.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 516P · 516P/2013 G10 · 516P/2018 X4 · 516P/2026 B1

Named

Close approaches 17 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2057-12-18 00:42:00 Jupiter 0.1675 AU 65.2 LD 3.9 km/s
2057-12-18 00:42:00 Juptr 0.1675 AU 65.2 LD 3.9 km/s
2062-02-27 08:15:00 Juptr 0.867 AU 337.4 LD 2.3 km/s
2128-05-19 09:45:00 Juptr 1.6855 AU 656.0 LD 5.5 km/s
2135-07-11 13:39:00 Juptr 0.6494 AU 252.7 LD 2.4 km/s
2139-10-24 04:43:00 Jupiter 0.3741 AU 145.6 LD 2.5 km/s
2139-10-24 04:43:00 Juptr 0.3741 AU 145.6 LD 2.5 km/s
2144-04-13 01:04:00 Jupiter 0.4562 AU 177.5 LD 2.4 km/s
2144-04-13 01:04:00 Juptr 0.4562 AU 177.5 LD 2.4 km/s
2151-02-03 06:43:00 Juptr 1.4556 AU 566.5 LD 4.4 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources