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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2015 J2 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 4.32 AU to 489.58 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 3,880.8 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
24.082 AU
True anomaly
130.98°
Distance from Earth
23.096 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.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth PANSTARRS — 24.082 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 23.096 AU from Earth today (3.2 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 11m 30s
Declination
+05° 09′ 43″
Constellation
Cetus
Distance from Earth
23.1 AU
Elongation from the Sun
172.38° — near opposition — up most of the night

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
246.951 AU
Eccentricity
0.9825
Inclination
17.28°
Orbital period
3,880.8 years
Perihelion
4.32 AU
Aphelion
489.582 AU
Longitude of ascending node
56.76°
Argument of periapsis
203.69°
Epoch · J2000
2457218.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,289.8 LD
3.3142 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.471

Orbit quality

Observations used
99
Data arc
475 days
First observed
21 March 2015
Last observed
8 July 2016
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.2
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 14.5
7.2

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2015 J2

Named

Sources