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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2021 N3 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 5.71 AU to 314.02 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 2,021.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 28 December 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
14.973 AU
True anomaly
105.07°
Distance from Earth
14.052 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 — 14.973 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 14.052 AU from Earth today (1.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
00h 51m 12s
Declination
+28° 53′ 36″
Constellation
Pisces
Distance from Earth
14.06 AU
Elongation from the Sun
156.88° — 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
159.866 AU
Eccentricity
0.9643
Inclination
26.75°
Orbital period
2,021.4 years
Perihelion
5.711 AU
Aphelion
314.021 AU
Longitude of ascending node
337.49°
Argument of periapsis
304.7°
Epoch · J2000
2459682.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,860.0 LD
4.7795 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.655

Orbit quality

Observations used
77
Data arc
550 days
First observed
13 June 2021
Last observed
15 December 2022
Residual RMS
0.24 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 December 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.2
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 12.5
7.2

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2021 N3

Named

Sources