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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2024 Q4 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y) orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 5.42 AU to 2,705.7 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 49,909.7 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 9 September 2025.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
7.434 AU
True anomaly
62.82°
Distance from Earth
8.08 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 — 7.434 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 8.08 AU from Earth today (1.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 06m 01s
Declination
+04° 52′ 54″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
8.08 AU
Elongation from the Sun
46.98° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
1,355.558 AU
Eccentricity
0.996
Inclination
3.31°
Orbital period
49,909.7 years
Perihelion
5.419 AU
Aphelion
2,705.697 AU
Longitude of ascending node
324.35°
Argument of periapsis
132.91°
Epoch · J2000
2460612.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,726.3 LD
4.4359 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.883

Orbit quality

Observations used
48
Data arc
145 days
First observed
31 August 2024
Last observed
23 January 2025
Residual RMS
0.28 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
9 September 2025

Visual & observation

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

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2024 Q4

Named

Sources