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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2016 G1 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.937 AU
True anomaly
139.25°
Distance from Earth
2.865 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 — 2.937 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 2.865 AU from Earth today (23.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 38m 01s
Declination
+10° 44′ 47″
Constellation
Canis Minor
Distance from Earth
2.86 AU
Elongation from the Sun
84.64° — 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
2.583 AU
Eccentricity
0.2101
Inclination
10.97°
Orbital period
4.15 years
Perihelion
2.04 AU
Aphelion
3.126 AU
Longitude of ascending node
204.07°
Argument of periapsis
111.28°
Epoch · J2000
2457508.5
Orbit class · ETc
Encke-type comet
Earth MOID · 411.4 LD
1.0572 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.367

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
147
Data arc
198 days
First observed
12 March 2016
Last observed
26 September 2016
Residual RMS
0.67 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 August 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
16.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2016 G1

Named

Sources