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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2012 T3 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.582 AU
True anomaly
322.81°
Distance from Earth
3.137 AU
As of
22 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth PANSTARRS — 2.582 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 3.137 AU from Earth today (26.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 08m 01s
Declination
-20° 12′ 56″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
3.14 AU
Elongation from the Sun
47.65° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
6.028 AU
Eccentricity
0.6045
Inclination
9.51°
Orbital period
14.8 years
Perihelion
2.384 AU
Aphelion
9.672 AU
Longitude of ascending node
114.26°
Argument of periapsis
196.8°
Epoch · J2000
2456215.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 533.3 LD
1.3703 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.554

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
34
Data arc
22 days
First observed
10 October 2012
Last observed
1 November 2012
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.9
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
14.9

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2012 T3

Named

Sources