Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

PANSTARRS

Add to an observing list or journal →

C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 3.76 AU to 11,646.85 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 444,617 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 9 June 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
12.607 AU
True anomaly
113.87°
Distance from Earth
12.916 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 — 12.607 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 12.916 AU from Earth today (1.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 55m 23s
Declination
-31° 51′ 31″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
12.93 AU
Elongation from the Sun
69.24° — 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
5,825.303 AU
Eccentricity
0.9994
Inclination
97.27°
Orbital period
444,617 years
Perihelion
3.756 AU
Aphelion
11,646.851 AU
Longitude of ascending node
107.34°
Argument of periapsis
75.42°
Epoch · J2000
2459581.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,319.7 LD
3.391 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-0.303

Orbit quality

Observations used
513
Data arc
3.54 years
First observed
25 September 2020
Last observed
9 April 2024
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
9 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
12.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 U5

Named

Sources