Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS)
Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) Position
Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Cancer. The current Right Ascension is 08h 01m 25s and the Declination is +23° 39’ 28”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) Distance
The distance of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 932,630,606 kilometers, equivalent to 6.234251 Astronomical Units. Light takes 51 minutes and 50.9208 seconds to travel from Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2015 O1 (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 C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Thu Apr 5 2018 at a distance of 3.23320273 Astronomical Units, or 483,680,245 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) is 18.17.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2015 O1 (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.
Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) at epoch 07 January 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458126.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 1.00001289 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 127.21096034° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 3.72964183 AU 557,946,477 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q | n.a. |
| Semi-major axis | a | n.a. |
| Orbital period | period | n.a. |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-Feb-19 00:29:03 2,458,168.5202 JD |
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 89.591101281054° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 299.85421292° |
| Mean anomaly | M | -2.6623580448169E-7° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00000001°/day |
Visualization of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
View Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Feb 12 | 08h 07m 27s | +23° 46’ 53” | 18.10 | Cancer |
| 2020 Feb 13 | 08h 06m 38s | +23° 46’ 00” | 18.11 | Cancer |
| 2020 Feb 14 | 08h 05m 48s | +23° 45’ 06” | 18.12 | Cancer |
| 2020 Feb 15 | 08h 04m 59s | +23° 44’ 11” | 18.13 | Cancer |
| 2020 Feb 16 | 08h 04m 12s | +23° 43’ 11” | 18.14 | Cancer |
| 2020 Feb 17 | 08h 03m 24s | +23° 42’ 11” | 18.14 | Cancer |
| 2020 Feb 18 | 08h 02m 35s | +23° 41’ 08” | 18.15 | Cancer |
| 2020 Feb 19 | 08h 01m 50s | +23° 40’ 05” | 18.16 | Cancer |
| 2020 Feb 20 | 08h 01m 04s | +23° 38’ 57” | 18.17 | Cancer |
| 2020 Feb 21 | 08h 00m 18s | +23° 37’ 49” | 18.18 | Gemini |
| 2020 Feb 22 | 07h 59m 32s | +23° 36’ 38” | 18.19 | Gemini |
| 2020 Feb 23 | 07h 58m 49s | +23° 35’ 26” | 18.19 | Gemini |
| 2020 Feb 24 | 07h 58m 05s | +23° 34’ 10” | 18.20 | Gemini |
| 2020 Feb 25 | 07h 57m 23s | +23° 32’ 54” | 18.21 | Gemini |