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Comet

PANSTARRS

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C/2026 J1 (PANSTARRS)

PANSTARRS is a comet in the Halley-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.52 AU to 48.46 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 128.7 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 21 September 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.785 AU
True anomaly
36.66°
Distance from Earth
3.321 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 — 2.785 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 3.321 AU from Earth today (27.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 21m 17s
Declination
-12° 10′ 55″
Constellation
Serpens
Distance from Earth
3.33 AU
Elongation from the Sun
49.49° — 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
25.493 AU
Eccentricity
0.901
Inclination
73.12°
Orbital period
128.7 years
Perihelion
2.524 AU
Aphelion
48.462 AU
Longitude of ascending node
100.36°
Argument of periapsis
129.52°
Epoch · J2000
2461212.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 686.6 LD
1.7644 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.762

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
479
Data arc
127 days
First observed
14 May 2026
Last observed
18 September 2026
Residual RMS
0.45 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
21 September 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 25
7.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2026 J1

Named

Sources