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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2026 P2 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.48 AU to 27,693.3 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 1,629,609.9 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 22 October 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.686 AU
True anomaly
273.35°
Distance from Earth
3.73 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 — 4.686 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 3.73 AU from Earth today (31.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 13m 43s
Declination
-01° 30′ 14″
Constellation
Cetus
Distance from Earth
3.73 AU
Elongation from the Sun
161.31° — near opposition — up most of the night

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
13,847.891 AU
Eccentricity
0.9998
Inclination
63.01°
Orbital period
1,629,609.9 years
Perihelion
2.48 AU
Aphelion
27,693.301 AU
Longitude of ascending node
23.44°
Argument of periapsis
78.88°
Epoch · J2000
2461270.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 792.4 LD
2.0362 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.886

Orbit quality

Observations used
408
Data arc
418 days
First observed
25 August 2025
Last observed
17 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
22 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
5.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 13.8
5.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2026 P2

Named

Close approaches 2 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2029-04-15 12:22:00 Jupiter 0.3175 AU 123.6 LD 18.7 km/s
2029-04-15 12:22:00 Juptr 0.3175 AU 123.6 LD 18.7 km/s

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

Sources