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	0.979 AU	06h00m	-47°06'	101.1°	39.8°	304°
Today	8 Aug 2026	25.5	28.369 AU	27.355 AU	21h17m	-15°10'	178.7°	0.0°	229°

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)                : 0.9999270
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.0673100
    i (Inclination)                 : 142.67920
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 317.79360
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 203.21150
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 298.96243
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -13.82457
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2456892.26230

    Epoch                           : 2026 Aug 08
    Reference                       : MPC194128

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   21 18 01.9   -15 09 46    27.347   28.361  176.9    0.1   243   25.5 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   21 17 53.0   -15 10 22    27.351   28.365  177.9    0.1   238   25.5 
2026-08-08 20:46 UT   21 17 45.4   -15 10 53    27.355   28.369  178.7    0.0   229   25.5 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   21 17 44.2   -15 10 58    27.355   28.370  178.8    0.0   226   25.5 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   21 17 35.3   -15 11 35    27.360   28.374  179.5    0.0   171   25.5 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   21 17 26.5   -15 12 11    27.365   28.379  178.9    0.0   103   25.5 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   21 17 17.6   -15 12 48    27.370   28.383  178.0    0.1    88   25.5 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   21 17 08.8   -15 13 24    27.375   28.388  177.0    0.1    83   25.5 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   21 16 59.9   -15 14 00    27.381   28.392  176.1    0.1    80   25.5 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   21 16 51.1   -15 14 36    27.387   28.397  175.1    0.2    79   25.5 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   21 16 42.3   -15 15 13    27.393   28.401  174.1    0.2    78   25.5 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   21 16 33.5   -15 15 49    27.399   28.406  173.1    0.2    77   25.5 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   21 16 24.7   -15 16 25    27.406   28.410  172.1    0.3    76   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.