Comet 364P/PANSTARRS
Comet 364P/PANSTARRS is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 4.9 years. It was discovered by the Pan-STARRS survey on February 13, 2013. It has a highly elliptical orbit with a perihelion distance of 0.8 astronomical units (AU) and an aphelion distance of 4.9 AU. The comet is classified as a Jupiter-family comet, meaning its orbit is controlled and highly influenced by Jupiter's gravity. The next perihelion passage happens on May 11, 2023, and the next one after that will happen in April 2028.
Comet 364P/PANSTARRS is in the constellation of
Aries,
at a distance of
Finder Charts
View interactive star map
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 364P/PANSTARRS is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.


Also check out Where is Comet 364P/PANSTARRS?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 364P/PANSTARRS in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Celestial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.
Rise and Set Times
Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 364P/PANSTARRS is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 60.50° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 364P/PANSTARRS is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS from Earth is currently
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 364P/PANSTARRS from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS to Earth happens on Sat Apr 8 2023 at a distance of 0.120732 Astronomical Units, or 18,061,227 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS at epoch 18 February 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458898.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.72258546 |
Orbit inclination | i | 12.15008512° |
Perihelion distance | q | 0.79853752 AU 119,459,514 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
4.95846081 AU 741,775,180 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
2.87849917 AU 430,617,347 km |
Orbital period | period |
4.8838 years 1,783.8059 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-Jun-24 08:55:28 2,458,293.8719 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2023-May-13 04:15 2,460,077.6777 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 211.96613622523° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 46.21758462148° |
Mean anomaly | M | 122.02344132044° |
Mean motion | n | 0.20181568°/day |
Orbit Visualization
View Comet 364P/PANSTARRS in the 3D Solar System Simulator
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2025 Feb 10 | 03h 19m 57s | +22° 39’ 22” | 25.65 | Aries |
2025 Feb 11 | 03h 20m 10s | +22° 39’ 53” | 25.66 | Aries |
2025 Feb 12 | 03h 20m 24s | +22° 40’ 28” | 25.67 | Aries |
2025 Feb 13 | 03h 20m 39s | +22° 41’ 05” | 25.68 | Aries |
2025 Feb 14 | 03h 20m 55s | +22° 41’ 46” | 25.69 | Aries |
2025 Feb 15 | 03h 21m 11s | +22° 42’ 30” | 25.70 | Aries |
2025 Feb 16 | 03h 21m 28s | +22° 43’ 16” | 25.71 | Aries |
2025 Feb 17 | 03h 21m 46s | +22° 44’ 06” | 25.72 | Aries |
2025 Feb 18 | 03h 22m 05s | +22° 44’ 58” | 25.73 | Aries |
2025 Feb 19 | 03h 22m 24s | +22° 45’ 54” | 25.74 | Aries |
2025 Feb 20 | 03h 22m 44s | +22° 46’ 51” | 25.75 | Aries |
2025 Feb 21 | 03h 23m 05s | +22° 47’ 51” | 25.76 | Aries |
2025 Feb 22 | 03h 23m 27s | +22° 48’ 56” | 25.77 | Aries |
2025 Feb 23 | 03h 23m 49s | +22° 50’ 01” | 25.78 | Aries |
Additional Resources
- Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 364P/PANSTARRS?)
- Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 364P/PANSTARRS from Earth?)
- When does Comet 364P/PANSTARRS rise and set?
- Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 364P/PANSTARRS?)
- Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 364P/PANSTARRS orbital parameters.
- Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS with respect to the major Solar System objects.
- 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS for the past and next 7 days.
- Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 364P/PANSTARRS in the sky from your location.
- Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 364P/PANSTARRS with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.