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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2021 QM45 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.77 AU to 705.24 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 6,660.8 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 20 March 2023.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
12.379 AU
True anomaly
123.92°
Distance from Earth
13.3 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 — 12.379 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 13.3 AU from Earth today (1.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 33m 37s
Declination
-10° 07′ 01″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
13.3 AU
Elongation from the Sun
21.51° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
354.007 AU
Eccentricity
0.9922
Inclination
22.82°
Orbital period
6,660.8 years
Perihelion
2.773 AU
Aphelion
705.241 AU
Longitude of ascending node
354.59°
Argument of periapsis
72.8°
Epoch · J2000
2459801.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 736.0 LD
1.8911 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.914

Orbit quality

Observations used
382
Data arc
591 days
First observed
4 August 2021
Last observed
18 March 2023
Residual RMS
0.69 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 March 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
9.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 15.3
9.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2021 QM45

Named

Sources