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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2020 Q2 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
11.476 AU
True anomaly
125.23°
Distance from Earth
10.65 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 — 11.476 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 10.65 AU from Earth today (1.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
04h 20m 35s
Declination
+18° 13′ 51″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
10.65 AU
Elongation from the Sun
145.06° — 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
10.921 AU
Eccentricity
0.5056
Inclination
3.31°
Orbital period
36.09 years
Perihelion
5.399 AU
Aphelion
16.443 AU
Longitude of ascending node
179.95°
Argument of periapsis
118.45°
Epoch · J2000
2459098.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,706.6 LD
4.3853 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.972

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
49
Data arc
461 days
First observed
29 June 2020
Last observed
3 October 2021
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
13 February 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
10.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 Q2

Named

Close approaches 3 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2058-10-19 19:08:00 Saturn 0.4778 AU 186.0 LD 6 km/s
2058-10-19 19:08:00 Satrn 0.4778 AU 186.0 LD 6 km/s

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

Sources