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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2024 G4 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 4.9 AU to 6,360.47 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 179,555.7 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 22 October 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.18 AU
True anomaly
26.9°
Distance from Earth
5.069 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 — 5.18 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 5.069 AU from Earth today (42.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 11m 24s
Declination
-07° 53′ 23″
Constellation
Aquila
Distance from Earth
5.08 AU
Elongation from the Sun
90.5° — well clear of the Sun

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
3,182.688 AU
Eccentricity
0.9985
Inclination
33.03°
Orbital period
179,555.7 years
Perihelion
4.901 AU
Aphelion
6,360.475 AU
Longitude of ascending node
152.98°
Argument of periapsis
131.42°
Epoch · J2000
2460884.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,551.3 LD
3.9862 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.302

Orbit quality

Observations used
808
Data arc
5.75 years
First observed
12 January 2021
Last observed
15 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.6 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
22 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 7
10.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2024 G4

Named

Sources