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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2019 G2 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.29 AU to 1,396.83 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 18,503.1 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2024.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
18.249 AU
True anomaly
138.74°
Distance from Earth
17.564 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 — 18.249 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 17.564 AU from Earth today (2.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
23h 32m 35s
Declination
-18° 21′ 07″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
17.57 AU
Elongation from the Sun
132.16° — 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
699.559 AU
Eccentricity
0.9967
Inclination
159.21°
Orbital period
18,503.1 years
Perihelion
2.291 AU
Aphelion
1,396.827 AU
Longitude of ascending node
208.14°
Argument of periapsis
82.65°
Epoch · J2000
2458770.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 550.0 LD
1.4133 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.746

Orbit quality

Observations used
120
Data arc
564 days
First observed
27 February 2019
Last observed
13 September 2020
Residual RMS
0.47 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 5.3
16.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2019 G2

Named

Sources