Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS)

Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Auriga. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) is 06h 33m 13s and the Declination is +40° 21’ 04” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) is 18.76 (JPL).

Summary of key facts about Comet C/2020 U5 (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 U5 (PANSTARRS) available on TheSkyLive:

Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) from Earth?)
• Rise and set times (see also When does Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) rise and set?)
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2020 U5 (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 U5 (PANSTARRS) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 822,832,273 kilometers, equivalent to 5.500294 Astronomical Units. Light takes 45 minutes and 44.6730 seconds to travel from Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 U5 (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 U5 (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 U5 (PANSTARRS) to Earth

Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Tue Dec 28 2021 at a distance of 3.393955 Astronomical Units, or 507,728,475 kilometers:

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

Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) is 18.76.

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 U5 (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 U5 (PANSTARRS) rise and set times

Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) is circumpolar and transits at 14:47 UTC (altitude: 78.9°)

The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet C/2020 U5 (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 U5 (PANSTARRS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2020 U5 (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 U5 (PANSTARRS) 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2020 U5 (PANSTARRS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2021 May 11	06h 28m 55s	+39° 54’ 59”	18.77	Auriga
2021 May 12	06h 29m 27s	+39° 58’ 22”	18.77	Auriga
2021 May 13	06h 30m 00s	+40° 01’ 45”	18.77	Auriga
2021 May 14	06h 30m 33s	+40° 05’ 08”	18.77	Auriga
2021 May 15	06h 31m 05s	+40° 08’ 35”	18.77	Auriga
2021 May 16	06h 31m 41s	+40° 12’ 00”	18.77	Auriga
2021 May 17	06h 32m 14s	+40° 15’ 27”	18.76	Auriga
2021 May 18	06h 32m 51s	+40° 18’ 55”	18.76	Auriga
2021 May 19	06h 33m 27s	+40° 22’ 23”	18.76	Auriga
2021 May 20	06h 34m 02s	+40° 25’ 54”	18.76	Auriga
2021 May 21	06h 34m 40s	+40° 29’ 25”	18.76	Auriga
2021 May 22	06h 35m 17s	+40° 32’ 56”	18.75	Auriga
2021 May 23	06h 35m 56s	+40° 36’ 29”	18.75	Auriga
2021 May 24	06h 36m 34s	+40° 40’ 02”	18.75	Auriga