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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2023 V3 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
8.234 AU
True anomaly
98.44°
Distance from Earth
8.194 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 — 8.234 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 8.194 AU from Earth today (1.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 40m 59s
Declination
+37° 56′ 59″
Constellation
Lynx
Distance from Earth
8.19 AU
Elongation from the Sun
89.08° — 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
13.241 AU
Eccentricity
0.6623
Inclination
40.26°
Orbital period
48.18 years
Perihelion
4.472 AU
Aphelion
22.011 AU
Longitude of ascending node
91.49°
Argument of periapsis
291.54°
Epoch · J2000
2460252.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,444.0 LD
3.7104 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.217

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
52
Data arc
99 days
First observed
25 September 2023
Last observed
2 January 2024
Residual RMS
0.32 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 January 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
11.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2023 V3

Named

Sources