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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2018 P5 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 4.58 AU to 20.91 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 45.49 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
13.744 AU
True anomaly
135.06°
Distance from Earth
13.807 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 — 13.744 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 13.807 AU from Earth today (1.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 30m 30s
Declination
+11° 30′ 50″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
13.8 AU
Elongation from the Sun
84.62° — well clear of the Sun

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
12.742 AU
Eccentricity
0.6409
Inclination
7.26°
Orbital period
45.49 years
Perihelion
4.576 AU
Aphelion
20.909 AU
Longitude of ascending node
216.24°
Argument of periapsis
131.63°
Epoch · J2000
2458531.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,391.7 LD
3.5761 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.792

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
93
Data arc
597 days
First observed
16 June 2018
Last observed
3 February 2020
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
14.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2018 P5

Named

Sources