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Comet

PANSTARRS

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P/2026 P1 (PANSTARRS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.621 AU
True anomaly
354°
Distance from Earth
2.93 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 — 3.621 AU from the Sun PANSTARRS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. PANSTARRS is 2.93 AU from Earth today (24.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 49m 27s
Declination
-12° 49′ 14″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
2.93 AU
Elongation from the Sun
127.2° — 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
7.796 AU
Eccentricity
0.5364
Inclination
8.47°
Orbital period
21.77 years
Perihelion
3.614 AU
Aphelion
11.978 AU
Longitude of ascending node
19.46°
Argument of periapsis
337.75°
Epoch · J2000
2461277.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,016.6 LD
2.6122 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.711

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
170
Data arc
63 days
First observed
9 August 2026
Last observed
11 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
11.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2026 P1

Named

Close approaches 2 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2041-12-01 20:26:00 Satrn 1.244 AU 484.1 LD 4.2 km/s

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

Sources