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Comets » 

Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 1:04 | Tran: 6:50 | Set: 12:36
Alt: -39.42°   Az: 18.67°   Direction: North-North-East

Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) is in the constellation of Serpens, at a distance of 1,075,813,850.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 16h 13m 03s and the Declination is -02° 20’ 54” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) is 20.31 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) in Serpens on February, 10 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) in Serpens on February, 10 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS)
RA: 16h 11m 45s
Dec: -02° 17’ 07”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

16h 13m 03s
-02° 20’ 54”
12h 57m 18s
05h 10m 22s

J2000

16h 11m 45s
-02° 17’ 07”

Additional Information

Serpens
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.31

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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 92.4°
Max altitude: 36.2°
Azimuth: 267.6°
  • C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2020 S4 (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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 1,075,813,850.0 kilometers, equivalent to 7.1913714077 Astronomical Units. Light takes 59m 48.529s to travel from Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

1,075,813,850.0
7.1913714077
59m 48.529s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 S4 (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.

Chart of the distance of Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 S4 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Mon Feb 6 2023 at a distance of 2.394273 Astronomical Units, or 358,178,192 kilometers:

Mon Feb 6 2023
358,178,192
2.394273

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2020 S4 (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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) at epoch 02 June 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459733.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00061396
Orbit inclination i 20.57260658°
Perihelion distance q 3.36960472 AU
504,085,692 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Feb-09 07:08:52
2,459,984.7978 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 21.002074395513°
Longitude of the ascending node node 117.72112292624°
Mean anomaly M -0.00060915764061301°
Mean motion n 0.00000242°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS)
View Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 03 16h 10m 34s -02° 29’ 34” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 04 16h 10m 55s -02° 28’ 36” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 05 16h 11m 15s -02° 27’ 36” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 06 16h 11m 35s -02° 26’ 32” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 07 16h 11m 54s -02° 25’ 26” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 08 16h 12m 13s -02° 24’ 19” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 09 16h 12m 31s -02° 23’ 08” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 10 16h 12m 49s -02° 21’ 56” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 11 16h 13m 06s -02° 20’ 41” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 12 16h 13m 22s -02° 19’ 24” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 13 16h 13m 38s -02° 18’ 04” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 14 16h 13m 54s -02° 16’ 42” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 15 16h 14m 09s -02° 15’ 19” 20.31 Serpens
2025 Feb 16 16h 14m 24s -02° 13’ 53” 20.31 Serpens

Additional Resources