Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS)

Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Draco. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is 18h 18m 00s and the Declination is +58° 36’ 43” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) is 20.03 (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 1,374,920,749 kilometers, equivalent to 9.190778 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 16 minutes and 26.2420 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 2014 and January 2100 the closest approach of Comet C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Fri Jun 9 2023 at a distance of 2.47514229 Astronomical Units, or 370,276,017 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 20.03.

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 01:22 UTC (altitude: 82.9°)

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 May 29	18h 23m 31s	+58° 28’ 46”	20.07	Draco
2020 May 30	18h 22m 50s	+58° 30’ 11”	20.07	Draco
2020 May 31	18h 22m 06s	+58° 31’ 28”	20.06	Draco
2020 Jun 01	18h 21m 24s	+58° 32’ 40”	20.06	Draco
2020 Jun 02	18h 20m 40s	+58° 33’ 46”	20.05	Draco
2020 Jun 03	18h 19m 56s	+58° 34’ 44”	20.05	Draco
2020 Jun 04	18h 19m 13s	+58° 35’ 35”	20.04	Draco
2020 Jun 05	18h 18m 29s	+58° 36’ 20”	20.04	Draco
2020 Jun 06	18h 17m 44s	+58° 36’ 57”	20.03	Draco
2020 Jun 07	18h 16m 58s	+58° 37’ 28”	20.03	Draco
2020 Jun 08	18h 16m 11s	+58° 37’ 53”	20.02	Draco
2020 Jun 09	18h 15m 25s	+58° 38’ 09”	20.02	Draco
2020 Jun 10	18h 14m 39s	+58° 38’ 18”	20.01	Draco
2020 Jun 11	18h 13m 53s	+58° 38’ 21”	20.01	Draco