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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2024 X3 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.959 AU
True anomaly
117.24°
Distance from Earth
6.933 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth PANSTARRS — 5.959 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 6.933 AU from Earth today (57.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 40m 38s
Declination
-13° 06′ 17″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
6.93 AU
Elongation from the Sun
10.7° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
6.994 AU
Eccentricity
0.6262
Inclination
2.97°
Orbital period
18.5 years
Perihelion
2.614 AU
Aphelion
11.374 AU
Longitude of ascending node
113.37°
Argument of periapsis
352.94°
Epoch · J2000
2460747.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 634.8 LD
1.6312 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.549

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
116
Data arc
571 days
First observed
22 October 2024
Last observed
16 May 2026
Residual RMS
0.56 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
22 May 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.2
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
16.2

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2024 X3

Named

Close approaches 8 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2100-03-26 22:40:00 Juptr 1.6332 AU 635.6 LD 4.9 km/s
2107-08-26 20:21:00 Satrn 1.0706 AU 416.7 LD 3.7 km/s
2136-03-24 21:01:00 Juptr 0.7133 AU 277.6 LD 7.2 km/s
2196-12-10 03:41:00 Satrn 0.9195 AU 357.9 LD 5 km/s
2200-05-15 03:33:00 Juptr 0.6949 AU 270.4 LD 7.3 km/s

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

Sources