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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2026 R1 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.994 AU
True anomaly
48.02°
Distance from Earth
1.184 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 — 1.994 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 1.184 AU from Earth today (9.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 47m 56s
Declination
-34° 37′ 33″
Constellation
Fornax
Distance from Earth
1.19 AU
Elongation from the Sun
132.01° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
3.131 AU
Eccentricity
0.4261
Inclination
27.21°
Orbital period
5.54 years
Perihelion
1.797 AU
Aphelion
4.465 AU
Longitude of ascending node
93.64°
Argument of periapsis
237.7°
Epoch · J2000
2461295.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 350.1 LD
0.8997 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.91

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
33
Data arc
17 days
First observed
5 September 2026
Last observed
22 September 2026
Residual RMS
0.57 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
9 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
17
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
17

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2026 R1

Named

Sources