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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2012 F2 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.027 AU
True anomaly
241.51°
Distance from Earth
6.464 AU
As of
22 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth PANSTARRS — 6.027 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 6.464 AU from Earth today (53.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 51m 13s
Declination
-01° 32′ 50″
Constellation
Sextans
Distance from Earth
6.45 AU
Elongation from the Sun
60.7° — well clear of the Sun

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
6.329 AU
Eccentricity
0.5422
Inclination
14.72°
Orbital period
15.92 years
Perihelion
2.897 AU
Aphelion
9.761 AU
Longitude of ascending node
227.14°
Argument of periapsis
33.19°
Epoch · J2000
2456292.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 738.5 LD
1.8975 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.615

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
100
Data arc
511 days
First observed
16 March 2012
Last observed
9 August 2013
Residual RMS
0.6 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8
12

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2012 F2

Named

Close approaches 9 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-06-15 02:17:00 Juptr 1.5041 AU 585.3 LD 9.3 km/s
2046-09-15 16:11:00 Juptr 1.185 AU 461.2 LD 9.9 km/s
2075-12-12 04:57:00 Juptr 1.5969 AU 621.5 LD 6.7 km/s
2148-01-01 18:45:00 Satrn 0.3399 AU 132.3 LD 5 km/s
2148-01-01 18:45:00 Saturn 0.3399 AU 132.3 LD 5 km/s

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

Sources