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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2026 N1 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 5.21 AU to 20,487.25 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 1,037,180.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 19 August 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.238 AU
True anomaly
312.13°
Distance from Earth
6.799 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 — 6.238 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 6.799 AU from Earth today (56.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 24m 03s
Declination
+00° 56′ 18″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
6.8 AU
Elongation from the Sun
51.62° — 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
10,246.23 AU
Eccentricity
0.9995
Inclination
86.08°
Orbital period
1,037,180.4 years
Perihelion
5.212 AU
Aphelion
20,487.247 AU
Longitude of ascending node
265.69°
Argument of periapsis
74.31°
Epoch · J2000
2461248.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,886.9 LD
4.8485 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.194

Orbit quality

Observations used
85
Data arc
35 days
First observed
12 July 2026
Last observed
16 August 2026
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.5
7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2026 N1

Named

Sources