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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2016 P4 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 5.89 AU to 638.17 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 5,779 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 20 June 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
21.517 AU
True anomaly
117.77°
Distance from Earth
20.909 AU
As of
25 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 — 21.517 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 20.909 AU from Earth today (2.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
05h 02m 32s
Declination
+50° 58′ 53″
Constellation
Auriga
Distance from Earth
20.91 AU
Elongation from the Sun
126.69° — 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
322.029 AU
Eccentricity
0.9817
Inclination
29.93°
Orbital period
5,779 years
Perihelion
5.892 AU
Aphelion
638.167 AU
Longitude of ascending node
320.78°
Argument of periapsis
355.9°
Epoch · J2000
2457649.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,898.8 LD
4.8792 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.613

Orbit quality

Observations used
45
Data arc
296 days
First observed
31 July 2016
Last observed
23 May 2017
Residual RMS
0.25 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 June 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 14
7.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2016 P4

Named

Sources