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public  Tutang, China Tutang, China  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Shanghai
Sunrise: 5:21 
Transit: 12:18 
Sunset: 19:16
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Comets » 

Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 19:32 | Tran: 0:41 | Set: 5:49
Alt: -61.72°   Az: 79.59°   Direction: East

Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) is in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 1,311,269,576.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 19h 19m 04s and the Declination is -20° 55’ 34” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 21.62).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) in the constellation of Sagittarius on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) in the constellation of Sagittarius on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS)
RA: 19h 17m 33s
Dec: -20° 58’ 25”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

19h 19m 04s
-20° 55’ 34”
13h 59m 43s
09h 18m 47s

J2000

19h 17m 33s
-20° 58’ 25”

Additional Information

Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.62

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

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) from Tutang, China (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Shanghai):

Azimuth: 110.9°
Max altitude: 39.7°
Azimuth: 249.0°

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 U5 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 1,311,269,576.0 kilometers, equivalent to 8.7652957216 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 12m 53.924s to travel from comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

1,311,269,576.0
8.7652957216
1h 12m 53.924s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happened on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at a distance of 3.393910 Astronomical Units, or 507,721,763 kilometers:

Tuesday 28 December 2021
507,721,763
3.393910

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) at epoch January, 03 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459583.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99935367
Orbit inclination i 97.27109360°
Perihelion distance q 3.75593175 AU
561,879,393 km
Aphelion distance Q 11,618.53702947 AU
1,738,108,403,743 km
Semi-major axis a 5,811.14648061 AU
869,335,141,568 km
Orbital period period 442,997.1543 years
161,804,710.5998 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp April 27, 2022
2,459,697.3780 JD
Next perihelion transit July 28, 445028
164,264,407.9778 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 75.415390070965°
Longitude of the ascending node node 107.33791968475°
Mean anomaly M 359.99974663239°
Mean motion n 0.00000222°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet C/2020 U5 (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
Jun 27 2025 19h 22m 27s -20° 35’ 19” 21.60 Sagittarius
Jun 28 2025 19h 21m 59s -20° 38’ 06” 21.60 Sagittarius
Jun 29 2025 19h 21m 31s -20° 40’ 53” 21.61 Sagittarius
Jun 30 2025 19h 21m 03s -20° 43’ 40” 21.61 Sagittarius
Jul 01 2025 19h 20m 36s -20° 46’ 27” 21.61 Sagittarius
Jul 02 2025 19h 20m 08s -20° 49’ 14” 21.61 Sagittarius
Jul 03 2025 19h 19m 40s -20° 52’ 01” 21.61 Sagittarius
Jul 04 2025 19h 19m 12s -20° 54’ 47” 21.62 Sagittarius
Jul 05 2025 19h 18m 43s -20° 57’ 34” 21.62 Sagittarius
Jul 06 2025 19h 18m 15s -21° 00’ 20” 21.62 Sagittarius
Jul 07 2025 19h 17m 47s -21° 03’ 06” 21.62 Sagittarius
Jul 08 2025 19h 17m 19s -21° 05’ 51” 21.63 Sagittarius
Jul 09 2025 19h 16m 51s -21° 08’ 36” 21.63 Sagittarius
Jul 10 2025 19h 16m 23s -21° 11’ 21” 21.63 Sagittarius

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