Skip Navigation Links

C/2017 K1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion12 Mar 201819.77.261 AU6.665 AU 15h06m-15°28'123.5°6.6°285°
Nearest approach29 Apr 201819.67.267 AU6.262 AU 14h31m-10°53'176.2°0.5°201°
Today11 Mar 202625.818.000 AU17.460 AU 08h18m+46°10'121.6°2.7°122°
C/2017 K1 (PANSTARRS)- 2026-03-11
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
-1 month
-1 week
-1 day
Now
+1 day
+1 week
+1 month

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. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (7.0 + 5 log[∆] + 10.0 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/2017 K1 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0000950
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 7.2609910
    i (Inclination)                 : 154.02720
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 225.69310
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 4.10670
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 221.99996
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 1.79726
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458190.46000

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 10
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-E44

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   08 19 18.6   +46 11 30    17.436   17.994  122.8    2.7   123   25.8 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   08 19 01.4   +46 10 56    17.453   17.998  121.9    2.7   122   25.8 
2026-03-11 09:02 UT   08 18 54.9   +46 10 43    17.460   18.000  121.6    2.7   122   25.8 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   08 18 44.4   +46 10 20    17.470   18.003  121.0    2.7   121   25.8 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   08 18 27.8   +46 09 43    17.488   18.007  120.1    2.7   121   25.8 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   08 18 11.4   +46 09 04    17.505   18.012  119.2    2.8   120   25.8 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   08 17 55.3   +46 08 23    17.523   18.016  118.3    2.8   120   25.8 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   08 17 39.6   +46 07 41    17.541   18.020  117.4    2.8   119   25.8 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   08 17 24.1   +46 06 57    17.558   18.025  116.5    2.8   118   25.8 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   08 17 08.9   +46 06 12    17.577   18.029  115.6    2.9   118   25.8 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   08 16 54.1   +46 05 25    17.595   18.034  114.7    2.9   117   25.8 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   08 16 39.5   +46 04 36    17.613   18.038  113.8    2.9   117   25.8 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   08 16 25.3   +46 03 47    17.632   18.043  112.9    2.9   116   25.8 




    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.

Privacy policy