Comet Near-Earth

PANSTARRS

P/2015 A3 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun: 13.631 AU
True anomaly: 183.98°
Distance from Earth: 14.61 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.

Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 14.61 AU from Earth today (2.0 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension: 13h 39m 17s
Declination: -03° 07′ 42″
Constellation: Virgo
Distance from Earth: 14.61 AU
Elongation from the Sun: 9.93° — too close to the Sun to observe

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.

Paste a location

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
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: 7.482 AU
Eccentricity: 0.8459
Inclination: 172.51°
Orbital period: 20.47 years
Perihelion: 1.153 AU
Aphelion: 13.811 AU
Longitude of ascending node: 277.08°
Argument of periapsis: 249.62°
Epoch · J2000: 2457067.5
Orbit class · HTC: Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 79.4 LD: 0.2041 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter): -0.573

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used: 57
Data arc: 155 days
First observed: 8 January 2015
Last observed: 12 June 2015
Residual RMS: 0.29 ″
Solution · Otto Matic: 15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H): 20.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5: 20.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2015 A3

Near-Earth Object Named

Sources

visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
orbital elements: JPL SBDB