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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2024 C2 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Chiron-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 8.99 AU to 23.35 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 65.03 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 7 May 2024.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
9.269 AU
True anomaly
25.5°
Distance from Earth
10.074 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 — 9.269 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 10.074 AU from Earth today (1.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 56m 03s
Declination
+18° 53′ 34″
Constellation
Coma Berenices
Distance from Earth
10.07 AU
Elongation from the Sun
34.51° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
16.171 AU
Eccentricity
0.444
Inclination
27.28°
Orbital period
65.03 years
Perihelion
8.991 AU
Aphelion
23.351 AU
Longitude of ascending node
66.44°
Argument of periapsis
87.53°
Epoch · J2000
2460345.5
Orbit class · CTc
Chiron-type comet
Earth MOID · 3,161.8 LD
8.1245 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.13

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
65
Data arc
127 days
First observed
25 December 2023
Last observed
30 April 2024
Residual RMS
0.28 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 May 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.2
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
6.2

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2024 C2

Named

Sources