C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	8 May 2023	12.4	3.074 AU	2.645 AU	20h50m	-60°04'	105.6°	18.4°	263°
Nearest approach	9 Jun 2023	12.3	3.090 AU	2.476 AU	21h12m	-77°28'	118.4°	16.8°	293°
Today	24 Jul 2026	19.7	10.047 AU	10.822 AU	06h24m	-07°12'	38.4°	3.6°	225°

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 6.3 + 5 log[∆] + 8.1 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/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9979000
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.0743070
    i (Inclination)                 : 89.67450
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 94.36450
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 213.94220
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 94.58357
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -33.94158
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460072.67200
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 56013.40

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jul 24
    Reference                       : MPC194167

    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
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   06 23 48.4   -07 12 10    10.821   10.034   37.5    3.5   223   19.6 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   06 24 07.8   -07 12 14    10.822   10.041   38.0    3.6   224   19.7 
2026-07-24 22:17 UT   06 24 25.7   -07 12 21    10.822   10.047   38.4    3.6   225   19.7 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   06 24 27.1   -07 12 21    10.822   10.047   38.5    3.6   225   19.7 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   06 24 46.2   -07 12 31    10.822   10.053   39.0    3.6   226   19.7 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   06 25 05.1   -07 12 42    10.822   10.060   39.5    3.7   227   19.7 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   06 25 23.9   -07 12 56    10.822   10.066   40.0    3.7   228   19.7 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   06 25 42.5   -07 13 12    10.822   10.073   40.6    3.8   229   19.7 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   06 26 00.9   -07 13 31    10.821   10.079   41.1    3.8   231   19.7 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   06 26 19.1   -07 13 52    10.821   10.085   41.7    3.8   232   19.7 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   06 26 37.2   -07 14 14    10.820   10.092   42.2    3.9   233   19.7 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   06 26 55.0   -07 14 40    10.819   10.098   42.8    3.9   234   19.7 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   06 27 12.7   -07 15 07    10.817   10.104   43.4    4.0   235   19.7 

    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.