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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2019 O2 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 9.68 AU to 104.99 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 434.2 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 18 June 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
11.605 AU
True anomaly
50.57°
Distance from Earth
12.559 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 — 11.605 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 12.559 AU from Earth today (1.7 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 57m 55s
Declination
-17° 08′ 22″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
12.56 AU
Elongation from the Sun
15.1° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
57.336 AU
Eccentricity
0.8311
Inclination
93.29°
Orbital period
434.2 years
Perihelion
9.683 AU
Aphelion
104.99 AU
Longitude of ascending node
48.31°
Argument of periapsis
129.66°
Epoch · J2000
2459374.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 3,503.4 LD
9.0022 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.121

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
588
Data arc
14.55 years
First observed
28 November 2011
Last observed
16 June 2026
Residual RMS
0.28 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
18 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.2
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.8
10.2

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2019 O2

Named

Sources