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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2023 M1 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.921 AU
True anomaly
126.74°
Distance from Earth
6.119 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 — 6.921 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 6.119 AU from Earth today (50.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
04h 28m 30s
Declination
+15° 31′ 40″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
6.11 AU
Elongation from the Sun
142° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
6.857 AU
Eccentricity
0.5879
Inclination
12.29°
Orbital period
17.96 years
Perihelion
2.826 AU
Aphelion
10.889 AU
Longitude of ascending node
216.87°
Argument of periapsis
79.7°
Epoch · J2000
2460099.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 717.9 LD
1.8446 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.574

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
37
Data arc
61 days
First observed
24 April 2023
Last observed
24 June 2023
Residual RMS
0.27 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
30 June 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 22.5
7.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2023 M1

Named

Sources