Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
This site is free and ad-free thanks to the support of our users. If you can, please consider a donation.
public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 6:47  
clear_day Transit: 12:50  
SunsetSet: 18:52 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS)

Altitude: -14.5°   Azimuth: 309.6°   Direction: North-West

Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Pegasus. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) is 23h 29m 38s and the Declination is +10° 50’ 36” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) is 19.69 (JPL).

23h 29m 38s
+10° 50’ 36”
Pegasus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.69

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 U4 (PANSTARRS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 79.2°
Max altitude: 49.3°
Azimuth: 280.9°
  • C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2020 U4 (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.

Available Resources

Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Finder chart of C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) in Pegasus on September,24 2023
Map showing Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) in Pegasus on September, 24 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS)
Map showing Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) in Pegasus on September, 24 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS)
RA: 23h 29m 38s
Dec: +10° 50’ 36”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 843,384,409 kilometers, equivalent to 5.637677 Astronomical Units. Light takes 46 minutes and 53.2276 seconds to travel from Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

843,384,409
5.637677
46 minutes and 53.2276 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 U4 (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 U4 (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 U4 (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 U4 (PANSTARRS) to Earth

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Tue Nov 30 2021 at a distance of 4.473831 Astronomical Units, or 669,275,569 kilometers:

Tue Nov 30 2021
669,275,569
4.473831

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

Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2020 U4 (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 U4 (PANSTARRS) as a function of time

Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) at epoch 17 February 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459628.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00141468
Orbit inclination i 167.03590981°
Perihelion distance q 5.35368850 AU
800,900,402 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Apr-07 22:53:46
2,459,677.4540 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 69.530896959178°
Longitude of the ascending node node 120.01415610353°
Mean anomaly M -0.00020725187458197°
Mean motion n 0.00000423°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2020 U4 (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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS)
View Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2020 U4 (PANSTARRS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 U4 (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 U4 (PANSTARRS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Sep 17 23h 36m 38s +11° 41’ 48” 19.66 Pegasus
2023 Sep 18 23h 35m 40s +11° 34’ 56” 19.66 Pegasus
2023 Sep 19 23h 34m 42s +11° 28’ 04” 19.67 Pegasus
2023 Sep 20 23h 33m 46s +11° 21’ 07” 19.67 Pegasus
2023 Sep 21 23h 32m 48s +11° 14’ 08” 19.68 Pegasus
2023 Sep 22 23h 31m 50s +11° 07’ 08” 19.68 Pegasus
2023 Sep 23 23h 30m 54s +11° 00’ 05” 19.69 Pegasus
2023 Sep 24 23h 29m 57s +10° 52’ 59” 19.69 Pegasus
2023 Sep 25 23h 29m 00s +10° 45’ 52” 19.70 Pegasus
2023 Sep 26 23h 28m 05s +10° 38’ 44” 19.70 Pegasus
2023 Sep 27 23h 27m 09s +10° 31’ 35” 19.71 Pegasus
2023 Sep 28 23h 26m 13s +10° 24’ 23” 19.71 Pegasus
2023 Sep 29 23h 25m 18s +10° 17’ 11” 19.72 Pegasus
2023 Sep 30 23h 24m 24s +10° 09’ 57” 19.73 Pegasus