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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2017 AB5 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Chiron-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 9.22 AU to 255,195.52 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 45,582,307.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
18.849 AU
True anomaly
91.27°
Distance from Earth
19.839 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 — 18.849 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 19.839 AU from Earth today (2.7 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 13m 47s
Declination
-07° 52′ 57″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
19.84 AU
Elongation from the Sun
5.31° — 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
127,602.368 AU
Eccentricity
0.9999
Inclination
32.43°
Orbital period
45,582,307.4 years
Perihelion
9.216 AU
Aphelion
255,195.52 AU
Longitude of ascending node
42.69°
Argument of periapsis
78.4°
Epoch · J2000
2458150.5
Orbit class · CTc
Chiron-type comet
Earth MOID · 3,267.0 LD
8.3946 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.177

Orbit quality

Observations used
85
Data arc
842 days
First observed
3 January 2017
Last observed
25 April 2019
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 9
6.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2017 AB5

Named

Sources