Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS)

Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Phoenix. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) is 01h 24m 17s and the Declination is -46° 00’ 48” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) is 16.92 (JPL).

Summary of key facts about Comet C/2020 K5 (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 K5 (PANSTARRS) available on TheSkyLive:

Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) from Earth?)
• Rise and set times (see also When does Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) rise and set?)
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2020 K5 (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 K5 (PANSTARRS) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 232,360,321 kilometers, equivalent to 1.553233 Astronomical Units. Light takes 12 minutes and 55.0706 seconds to travel from Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 K5 (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 K5 (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 K5 (PANSTARRS) to Earth

Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Thu May 20 2021 at a distance of 1.551239 Astronomical Units, or 232,062,050 kilometers:

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

Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) is 16.92.

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 K5 (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 K5 (PANSTARRS) rise and set times

Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet C/2020 K5 (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 K5 (PANSTARRS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2020 K5 (PANSTARRS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2020 K5 (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 K5 (PANSTARRS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 K5 (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 K5 (PANSTARRS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2021 May 09	00h 36m 10s	-46° 25’ 12”	16.98	Phoenix
2021 May 10	00h 42m 30s	-46° 25’ 09”	16.97	Phoenix
2021 May 11	00h 48m 51s	-46° 24’ 07”	16.96	Phoenix
2021 May 12	00h 55m 13s	-46° 22’ 09”	16.96	Phoenix
2021 May 13	01h 01m 33s	-46° 19’ 14”	16.95	Phoenix
2021 May 14	01h 07m 53s	-46° 15’ 20”	16.94	Phoenix
2021 May 15	01h 14m 11s	-46° 10’ 31”	16.93	Phoenix
2021 May 16	01h 20m 26s	-46° 04’ 45”	16.93	Phoenix
2021 May 17	01h 26m 40s	-45° 58’ 05”	16.92	Phoenix
2021 May 18	01h 32m 53s	-45° 50’ 30”	16.92	Phoenix
2021 May 19	01h 39m 02s	-45° 42’ 03”	16.92	Phoenix
2021 May 20	01h 45m 07s	-45° 32’ 45”	16.91	Phoenix
2021 May 21	01h 51m 10s	-45° 22’ 38”	16.91	Phoenix
2021 May 22	01h 57m 08s	-45° 11’ 43”	16.91	Phoenix