Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS)
Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) was discovered on May 17, 2020, by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS). It is a comet that originates from the Oort cloud, a region of icy objects beyond the orbit of Neptune. The comet's orbit is parabolic-like, almost perpendicular to the ecliptic plane, the plane in which the planets orbit the Sun. The comet will reach its closest point to the Sun, known as perihelion, on May 9, 2023, when it will be at a distance of 3.07 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. On July 9, 2023, the comet will make its closest approach to Earth, at a distance of 2.47 AU. Between April and August 2023, the comet will be at its brightest and then it will gradually become dimmer as it moves away from the inner solar system.
Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Pictor, at a distance of 713,863,505 kilometers from Earth.
View interactive star map
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.
Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
- Given its current magnitude, C/2020 K1 (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.
Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) Position and Finder Charts
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
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 713,863,505 kilometers, equivalent to 4.771883 Astronomical Units. Light takes 39 minutes and 41.1923 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 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Fri Jun 9 2023 at a distance of 2.471780 Astronomical Units, or 369,772,985 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) Brightness and Light Curve
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) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) at epoch 25 January 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459605.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.99978755 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 89.66001431° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 3.07376730 AU 459,829,044 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
28,933.06053604 AU 4,328,324,257,705 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
14,468.06715167 AU 2,164,392,043,375 km |
| Orbital period | period |
1,740,299.4222 years 635,644,363.9475 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2023-May-09 01:58:43 2,460,073.5824 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2646-Oct-07 08:43 638,104,437.5299 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 213.97315979727° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 94.358527151777° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 359.99973489943° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00000057°/day |
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!
View Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Apr 20 | 05h 00m 20s | -47° 09’ 29” | 15.51 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 21 | 05h 01m 27s | -46° 54’ 39” | 15.52 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 22 | 05h 02m 33s | -46° 40’ 00” | 15.53 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 23 | 05h 03m 38s | -46° 25’ 29” | 15.54 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 24 | 05h 04m 45s | -46° 11’ 08” | 15.55 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 25 | 05h 05m 51s | -45° 56’ 57” | 15.56 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 26 | 05h 06m 56s | -45° 42’ 56” | 15.57 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 27 | 05h 08m 02s | -45° 29’ 04” | 15.58 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 28 | 05h 09m 07s | -45° 15’ 23” | 15.59 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 29 | 05h 10m 13s | -45° 01’ 50” | 15.60 | Pictor |
| 2024 Apr 30 | 05h 11m 18s | -44° 48’ 28” | 15.61 | Pictor |
| 2024 May 01 | 05h 12m 24s | -44° 35’ 14” | 15.62 | Pictor |
| 2024 May 02 | 05h 13m 28s | -44° 22’ 11” | 15.63 | Pictor |
| 2024 May 03 | 05h 14m 35s | -44° 09’ 19” | 15.64 | Pictor |