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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2021 P2 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 5.07 AU to 4,943.1 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 123,063.6 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 26 June 2025.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
10.778 AU
True anomaly
93.47°
Distance from Earth
11.76 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 — 10.778 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 11.76 AU from Earth today (1.6 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 35m 57s
Declination
-10° 32′ 46″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
11.76 AU
Elongation from the Sun
8.45° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
2,474.083 AU
Eccentricity
0.998
Inclination
150.06°
Orbital period
123,063.6 years
Perihelion
5.069 AU
Aphelion
4,943.098 AU
Longitude of ascending node
32.08°
Argument of periapsis
76.69°
Epoch · J2000
2459976.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,639.0 LD
4.2115 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-2.416

Orbit quality

Observations used
408
Data arc
3.92 years
First observed
19 June 2021
Last observed
21 May 2025
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
26 June 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.5
7.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2021 P2

Named

Sources