C/2012 K1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	23 Aug 2014	6.9	1.068 AU	1.992 AU	08h57m	+09°32'	17.1°	16.2°	262°
Nearest approach	29 Oct 2014	6.8	1.522 AU	0.978 AU	06h01m	-47°08'	101.0°	39.8°	304°
Today	18 Oct 2026	25.6	28.686 AU	28.329 AU	21h09m	-15°43'	110.0°	1.9°	73°

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)                : 0.9999440
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.0676460
    i (Inclination)                 : 142.68680
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 317.79380
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 203.21780
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 298.95554
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -13.82573
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2456892.51340

    Epoch                           : 2026 Oct 18
    Reference                       : MPC194128

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   21 09 48.0   -15 42 47    28.290   28.678  111.9    1.8    73   25.6 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   21 09 44.7   -15 42 59    28.311   28.682  110.9    1.9    73   25.6 
2026-10-18 20:21 UT   21 09 42.1   -15 43 08    28.329   28.686  110.0    1.9    73   25.6 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   21 09 41.6   -15 43 10    28.332   28.687  109.9    1.9    73   25.6 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   21 09 38.7   -15 43 20    28.353   28.691  108.9    1.9    73   25.6 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   21 09 35.9   -15 43 30    28.374   28.696  107.9    1.9    73   25.6 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   21 09 33.2   -15 43 39    28.395   28.700  106.9    1.9    73   25.6 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   21 09 30.7   -15 43 47    28.416   28.705  105.9    1.9    73   25.6 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   21 09 28.3   -15 43 55    28.437   28.709  104.9    1.9    73   25.7 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   21 09 26.0   -15 44 02    28.458   28.714  103.9    1.9    73   25.7 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   21 09 23.9   -15 44 09    28.480   28.718  102.9    1.9    73   25.7 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   21 09 22.0   -15 44 15    28.501   28.722  101.8    1.9    73   25.7 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   21 09 20.2   -15 44 20    28.523   28.727  100.8    1.9    73   25.7 

    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.