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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2017 X1 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 4.66 AU to 57.97 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 175.2 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 4 September 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
17.57 AU
True anomaly
126.71°
Distance from Earth
17.675 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 — 17.57 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 17.675 AU from Earth today (2.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 24m 04s
Declination
+01° 27′ 25″
Constellation
Aquila
Distance from Earth
17.68 AU
Elongation from the Sun
81.9° — well clear of the Sun

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
31.316 AU
Eccentricity
0.8511
Inclination
31.31°
Orbital period
175.2 years
Perihelion
4.663 AU
Aphelion
57.969 AU
Longitude of ascending node
251.13°
Argument of periapsis
283.11°
Epoch · J2000
2458163.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,492.4 LD
3.8348 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.367

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
127
Data arc
893 days
First observed
12 February 2017
Last observed
25 July 2019
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 September 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 13.5
7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2017 X1

Named

Sources