Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS)

Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Hercules. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is 17h 35m 14s and the Declination is +44° 32’ 06” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is 19.48 (JPL).

Summary of key facts about Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:

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Additional information about Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) available on TheSkyLive:

Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) from Earth?)
• Rise and set times (see also When does Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) rise and set?)
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2020 K1 (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 C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 1,292,202,113 kilometers, equivalent to 8.637838 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 11 minutes and 50.3223 seconds to travel from Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 K1 (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/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest approach of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) to Earth

Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Fri Jun 9 2023 at a distance of 2.471218 Astronomical Units, or 369,689,010 kilometers:

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is 19.48.

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/2020 K1 (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/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) rise and set times

Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is circumpolar and transits at 15:09 UTC (altitude: 83.1°)

The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet C/2020 K1 (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.

Visualization of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2020 K1 (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!

Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 K1 (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/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2020 Oct 20	17h 32m 02s	+45° 30’ 14”	19.51	Hercules
2020 Oct 21	17h 32m 25s	+45° 22’ 45”	19.50	Hercules
2020 Oct 22	17h 32m 48s	+45° 15’ 20”	19.50	Hercules
2020 Oct 23	17h 33m 11s	+45° 07’ 59”	19.50	Hercules
2020 Oct 24	17h 33m 34s	+45° 00’ 42”	19.49	Hercules
2020 Oct 25	17h 33m 59s	+44° 53’ 26”	19.49	Hercules
2020 Oct 26	17h 34m 23s	+44° 46’ 15”	19.49	Hercules
2020 Oct 27	17h 34m 50s	+44° 39’ 07”	19.48	Hercules
2020 Oct 28	17h 35m 14s	+44° 32’ 03”	19.48	Hercules
2020 Oct 29	17h 35m 40s	+44° 25’ 02”	19.48	Hercules
2020 Oct 30	17h 36m 07s	+44° 18’ 06”	19.47	Hercules
2020 Oct 31	17h 36m 34s	+44° 11’ 13”	19.47	Hercules
2020 Nov 01	17h 37m 01s	+44° 04’ 23”	19.46	Hercules
2020 Nov 02	17h 37m 29s	+43° 57’ 38”	19.46	Hercules