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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2024 F2 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.371 AU
True anomaly
90.25°
Distance from Earth
5.782 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 — 6.371 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 5.782 AU from Earth today (48.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 32m 13s
Declination
-15° 34′ 00″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
5.79 AU
Elongation from the Sun
122.12° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
9.95 AU
Eccentricity
0.6012
Inclination
13.74°
Orbital period
31.39 years
Perihelion
3.968 AU
Aphelion
15.933 AU
Longitude of ascending node
138.95°
Argument of periapsis
112.92°
Epoch · J2000
2460543.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,162.5 LD
2.987 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.67

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
223
Data arc
521 days
First observed
21 March 2024
Last observed
24 August 2025
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
3 April 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 15.8
7.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2024 F2

Named

Close approaches 4 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2057-05-28 18:53:00 Juptr 1.4704 AU 572.2 LD 11.4 km/s
2087-06-23 08:34:00 Juptr 0.8354 AU 325.1 LD 8.7 km/s

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

Sources