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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2024 K1 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.119 AU
True anomaly
108°
Distance from Earth
5.399 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 — 6.119 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 5.399 AU from Earth today (44.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 51m 05s
Declination
-05° 06′ 39″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
5.41 AU
Elongation from the Sun
131.84° — well clear of the Sun

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
6.838 AU
Eccentricity
0.4907
Inclination
1.82°
Orbital period
17.88 years
Perihelion
3.483 AU
Aphelion
10.193 AU
Longitude of ascending node
251.62°
Argument of periapsis
349.43°
Epoch · J2000
2460463.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 961.4 LD
2.4703 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.758

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
36
Data arc
22 days
First observed
19 May 2024
Last observed
10 June 2024
Residual RMS
0.24 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 January 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13.3
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
13.3

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2024 K1

Named

Sources