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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 3.07 AU to 93,711.52 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 10,143,177.3 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 7 March 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
10.637 AU
True anomaly
114.97°
Distance from Earth
10.275 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 — 10.637 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 10.275 AU from Earth today (1.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
06h 33m 52s
Declination
-09° 08′ 36″
Constellation
Monoceros
Distance from Earth
10.27 AU
Elongation from the Sun
109.46° — 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
46,857.295 AU
Eccentricity
0.9999
Inclination
89.66°
Orbital period
10,143,177.3 years
Perihelion
3.073 AU
Aphelion
93,711.516 AU
Longitude of ascending node
94.36°
Argument of periapsis
213.98°
Epoch · J2000
2459791.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 852.1 LD
2.1896 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.013

Orbit quality

Observations used
3,655
Data arc
5.77 years
First observed
17 April 2020
Last observed
22 January 2026
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 March 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
8.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 6
8.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 K1

Named

Sources