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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2014 OG392 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Chiron-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 9.97 AU to 14.41 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 42.55 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 18 December 2025.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
10.741 AU
True anomaly
57.79°
Distance from Earth
10.392 AU
As of
24 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.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth PANSTARRS — 10.741 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 10.392 AU from Earth today (1.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
06h 54m 21s
Declination
+15° 52′ 40″
Constellation
Gemini
Distance from Earth
10.39 AU
Elongation from the Sun
108.36° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
12.188 AU
Eccentricity
0.182
Inclination
9.04°
Orbital period
42.55 years
Perihelion
9.969 AU
Aphelion
14.406 AU
Longitude of ascending node
145.83°
Argument of periapsis
254.11°
Epoch · J2000
2458713.5
Orbit class · CTc
Chiron-type comet
Earth MOID · 3,498.5 LD
8.9895 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.399

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
369
Data arc
14.38 years
First observed
27 July 2011
Last observed
13 December 2025
Residual RMS
0.3 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
18 December 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
11.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2014 OG392

Named

Sources