C/2012 K1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	22 Aug 2014	6.9	1.067 AU	1.993 AU	08h57m	+09°35'	17.0°	16.1°	261°
Nearest approach	29 Oct 2014	6.8	1.523 AU	0.980 AU	06h00m	-47°05'	101.1°	39.8°	304°
Today	11 Jul 2026	25.5	28.243 AU	27.349 AU	21h21m	-14°54'	151.0°	1.0°	251°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the comet's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

Light curve

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations from COBS. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 5.2 + 5 log[∆] + 9.1 log[r]). An additional green curve is displayed when an increase in apparent brightness is expected due to forward scattering of sunlight, which occurs when a dust-rich comet is located between the Earth and the Sun. (See Marcus 2007)

Charts

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the comet over the same period as the light curve. The comet's current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Orbital elements

The orbital elements of C/2012 K1 (PANSTARRS) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9999200
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.0672450
    i (Inclination)                 : 142.67750
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 317.79360
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 203.20980
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 298.96426
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -13.82414
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2456892.15130

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jul 11
    Reference                       : MPC194128

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   21 21 58.1   -14 53 40    27.356   28.235  149.2    1.1   251   25.5 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   21 21 50.3   -14 54 11    27.352   28.240  150.2    1.0   251   25.5 
2026-07-11 19:37 UT   21 21 44.0   -14 54 37    27.349   28.243  151.0    1.0   251   25.5 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   21 21 42.5   -14 54 43    27.349   28.244  151.2    1.0   251   25.5 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   21 21 34.7   -14 55 15    27.345   28.249  152.2    1.0   251   25.5 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   21 21 26.7   -14 55 47    27.342   28.253  153.1    0.9   251   25.5 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   21 21 18.7   -14 56 19    27.339   28.258  154.1    0.9   251   25.5 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   21 21 10.6   -14 56 52    27.336   28.262  155.1    0.9   251   25.5 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   21 21 02.5   -14 57 25    27.334   28.267  156.1    0.8   251   25.5 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   21 20 54.3   -14 57 59    27.331   28.271  157.1    0.8   251   25.5 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   21 20 46.1   -14 58 32    27.330   28.276  158.1    0.8   251   25.5 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   21 20 37.7   -14 59 06    27.328   28.280  159.1    0.7   251   25.5 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   21 20 29.4   -14 59 40    27.327   28.285  160.1    0.7   251   25.5 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between comet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between comet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-comet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-comet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km      
    

Orbital elements usually provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Observations contributed by observers worldwide, via COBS (Comet Observation Database) or the MPC (Minor Planet Center)
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.