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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2021 A6 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 7.93 AU to 20,610.68 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 1,046,772.4 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 2 August 2024.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
13.927 AU
True anomaly
82.05°
Distance from Earth
14.319 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 — 13.927 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 14.319 AU from Earth today (2.0 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 36m 35s
Declination
+49° 05′ 49″
Constellation
Boötes
Distance from Earth
14.32 AU
Elongation from the Sun
64.97° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
10,309.304 AU
Eccentricity
0.9992
Inclination
75.61°
Orbital period
1,046,772.4 years
Perihelion
7.928 AU
Aphelion
20,610.68 AU
Longitude of ascending node
164.08°
Argument of periapsis
351.69°
Epoch · J2000
2459662.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 2,703.2 LD
6.9461 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.868

Orbit quality

Observations used
167
Data arc
3.67 years
First observed
26 November 2020
Last observed
28 July 2024
Residual RMS
0.39 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 August 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
5.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 12.3
5.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2021 A6

Named

Sources