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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2015 X3 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.826 AU
True anomaly
355.04°
Distance from Earth
1.938 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 — 2.826 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 1.938 AU from Earth today (16.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 51m 30s
Declination
-21° 29′ 19″
Constellation
Cetus
Distance from Earth
1.94 AU
Elongation from the Sun
147.01° — well clear of the Sun

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
5.024 AU
Eccentricity
0.4381
Inclination
24.38°
Orbital period
11.26 years
Perihelion
2.823 AU
Aphelion
7.225 AU
Longitude of ascending node
77.33°
Argument of periapsis
306.95°
Epoch · J2000
2457356.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 740.8 LD
1.9034 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.645

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
35
Data arc
34 days
First observed
6 November 2015
Last observed
10 December 2015
Residual RMS
0.6 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
3 May 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
14.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2015 X3

Named

Close approaches 2 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2102-04-29 09:53:00 Juptr 0.3575 AU 139.1 LD 6.7 km/s
2102-04-29 09:53:00 Jupiter 0.3575 AU 139.1 LD 6.7 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources