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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2013 W1 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.129 AU
True anomaly
275.76°
Distance from Earth
1.212 AU
As of
11 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 — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth PANSTARRS — 2.129 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 1.212 AU from Earth today (10.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
03h 13m 50s
Declination
+09° 26′ 06″
Constellation
Cetus
Distance from Earth
1.21 AU
Elongation from the Sun
149.31° — 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
3.486 AU
Eccentricity
0.5939
Inclination
4.7°
Orbital period
6.51 years
Perihelion
1.416 AU
Aphelion
5.556 AU
Longitude of ascending node
117.86°
Argument of periapsis
1.33°
Epoch · J2000
2456648.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 168.0 LD
0.4316 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.805

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
105
Data arc
114 days
First observed
9 November 2013
Last observed
3 March 2014
Residual RMS
0.63 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 5.8
18.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2013 W1

Named

Close approaches 12 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of PANSTARRS at 2053-02-04 05:19 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2053-02-04 05:19 UTC close approach of PANSTARRS. Catalogue miss distance 192.9 LD · 7.42 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2053-02-01 to 2053-02-07, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 192.9 LD · 7.42 × 10⁷ km 2053-02-04 05:19 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2053-02-04 05:19 UTC close approach of PANSTARRS. Catalogue miss distance 192.9 LD · 7.42 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2053-02-01 to 2053-02-07, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2045-01-20 05:49:00 Juptr 1.3663 AU 531.7 LD 10 km/s
2053-02-04 05:19:00 Earth 0.4958 AU 192.9 LD 3 km/s
2056-08-29 18:01:00 Jupiter 0.2877 AU 111.9 LD 5.8 km/s
2056-08-29 18:01:00 Juptr 0.2877 AU 111.9 LD 5.8 km/s
2067-07-05 01:26:00 Juptr 1.4337 AU 558.0 LD 10.4 km/s
2104-05-12 22:46:00 Juptr 0.5608 AU 218.2 LD 7.7 km/s
2126-09-09 10:50:00 Juptr 0.5462 AU 212.6 LD 8 km/s

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

Sources