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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2026 C2 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.486 AU
True anomaly
23.79°
Distance from Earth
3.406 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 — 2.486 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 3.406 AU from Earth today (28.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 26m 02s
Declination
-11° 12′ 18″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
3.41 AU
Elongation from the Sun
19.05° — 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.

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
3.553 AU
Eccentricity
0.3143
Inclination
7.4°
Orbital period
6.7 years
Perihelion
2.436 AU
Aphelion
4.669 AU
Longitude of ascending node
190.56°
Argument of periapsis
11.01°
Epoch · J2000
2461099.5
Orbit class · ETc
Encke-type comet
Earth MOID · 558.2 LD
1.4344 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.02

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
167
Data arc
58 days
First observed
29 January 2026
Last observed
28 March 2026
Residual RMS
0.59 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
31 March 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
17
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
17

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2026 C2

Named

Close approaches 5 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2070-12-09 08:11:00 Juptr 1.1291 AU 439.4 LD 5.7 km/s
2082-05-28 03:59:00 Juptr 1.3446 AU 523.3 LD 6.3 km/s
2130-04-21 05:49:00 Juptr 0.7266 AU 282.8 LD 4.5 km/s

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

Sources