Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS)

Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Antlia. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) is 09h 39m 56s and the Declination is -30° 55’ 54” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) is 11.46 (JPL).

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/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) from Earth?)
• When does Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2021 S3 (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/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 454,083,272 kilometers, equivalent to 3.035359 Astronomical Units. Light takes 25 minutes and 14.6588 seconds to travel from Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2021 S3 (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/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Fri Mar 15 2024 at a distance of 1.297933 Astronomical Units, or 194,167,957 kilometers:

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

Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2021 S3 (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.

Visualization of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2021 S3 (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/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2021 S3 (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/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Sep 14	09h 22m 23s	-29° 46’ 50”	11.67	Pyxis
2023 Sep 15	09h 24m 38s	-29° 55’ 41”	11.64	Pyxis
2023 Sep 16	09h 26m 54s	-30° 04’ 33”	11.61	Pyxis
2023 Sep 17	09h 29m 12s	-30° 13’ 32”	11.59	Antlia
2023 Sep 18	09h 31m 28s	-30° 22’ 32”	11.56	Antlia
2023 Sep 19	09h 33m 47s	-30° 31’ 36”	11.53	Antlia
2023 Sep 20	09h 36m 06s	-30° 40’ 45”	11.51	Antlia
2023 Sep 21	09h 38m 26s	-30° 49’ 55”	11.48	Antlia
2023 Sep 22	09h 40m 46s	-30° 59’ 09”	11.45	Antlia
2023 Sep 23	09h 43m 08s	-31° 08’ 26”	11.43	Antlia
2023 Sep 24	09h 45m 29s	-31° 17’ 44”	11.40	Antlia
2023 Sep 25	09h 47m 53s	-31° 27’ 06”	11.37	Antlia
2023 Sep 26	09h 50m 16s	-31° 36’ 29”	11.34	Antlia
2023 Sep 27	09h 52m 41s	-31° 45’ 55”	11.32	Antlia