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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2014 OE4 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 6.24 AU to 45,530.49 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 3,435,626.9 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 2 May 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
21.351 AU
True anomaly
114.54°
Distance from Earth
20.48 AU
As of
25 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.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth PANSTARRS — 21.351 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 20.48 AU from Earth today (2.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
03h 58m 43s
Declination
+20° 12′ 18″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
20.48 AU
Elongation from the Sun
151.36° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
22,768.366 AU
Eccentricity
0.9997
Inclination
81.35°
Orbital period
3,435,626.9 years
Perihelion
6.244 AU
Aphelion
45,530.488 AU
Longitude of ascending node
240.39°
Argument of periapsis
65.76°
Epoch · J2000
2457885.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 2,238.9 LD
5.7529 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.466

Orbit quality

Observations used
1,798
Data arc
5.71 years
First observed
8 May 2014
Last observed
21 January 2020
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 May 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 7
7.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2014 OE4

Named

Sources