Skip Navigation Links

C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach13 Jul 20229.02.645 AU1.793 AU 16h59m-03°41'138.9°14.6°119°
Perihelion18 Dec 20228.51.800 AU2.485 AU 17h52m-60°22'37.0°19.2°176°
Today2 Nov 202516.59.872 AU9.246 AU 06h14m+29°27'126.8°4.6°267°
C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-11-02
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. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 4.8 + 5 log[∆] + 6.9 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 K2 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9986880
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.8000780
    i (Inclination)                 : 87.63850
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 88.22160
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 236.15920
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 91.73832
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -56.08669
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459931.75330
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 50820.18

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 01
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-UQ3

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; Returning (a < 10000 AU); External (P > 200 years)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   06 14 34.9   +29 24 51     9.257    9.861  125.0    4.7   267   16.5 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   06 14 16.7   +29 26 42     9.250    9.868  126.1    4.7   267   16.5 
2025-11-02 15:36 UT   06 14 04.7   +29 27 54     9.246    9.872  126.8    4.6   267   16.5 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   06 13 58.1   +29 28 33     9.243    9.875  127.2    4.6   267   16.5 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   06 13 39.1   +29 30 24     9.237    9.882  128.2    4.5   267   16.5 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   06 13 19.6   +29 32 14     9.231    9.889  129.3    4.5   266   16.5 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   06 12 59.7   +29 34 04     9.225    9.896  130.3    4.4   266   16.5 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   06 12 39.4   +29 35 54     9.219    9.903  131.4    4.3   266   16.5 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   06 12 18.6   +29 37 43     9.213    9.910  132.5    4.2   265   16.5 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   06 11 57.4   +29 39 31     9.208    9.917  133.5    4.2   265   16.5 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   06 11 35.9   +29 41 19     9.203    9.924  134.6    4.1   265   16.5 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   06 11 13.9   +29 43 07     9.198    9.931  135.7    4.0   265   16.5 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   06 10 51.5   +29 44 54     9.193    9.937  136.7    3.9   264   16.5 




    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.

Privacy policy