Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS)

Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) is a comet discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) on January 10, 2022. The comet has a parabolic-like and retrograde orbit with a perihelion distance of 1.73 astronomical units (AU). It has reached its maximum brightness in January 2023, during its perihelion passage, and now it is becoming fainter as it is moving away from the sun.

Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Aquarius.

The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) is 22h 36m 29s and the Declination is -13° 12’ 51” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) is 18.26 (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/2022 A2 (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/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) from Earth?)
• When does Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2022 A2 (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/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 592,205,839 kilometers, equivalent to 3.958652 Astronomical Units. Light takes 32 minutes and 55.3860 seconds to travel from Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2022 A2 (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/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Tue Jan 17 2023 at a distance of 1.612790 Astronomical Units, or 241,269,937 kilometers:

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

Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2022 A2 (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/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2022 A2 (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/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2022 A2 (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/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Dec 03	22h 34m 26s	-12° 37’ 57”	18.06	Aquarius
2023 Dec 04	22h 34m 41s	-12° 43’ 18”	18.08	Aquarius
2023 Dec 05	22h 34m 55s	-12° 48’ 28”	18.11	Aquarius
2023 Dec 06	22h 35m 12s	-12° 53’ 29”	18.14	Aquarius
2023 Dec 07	22h 35m 29s	-12° 58’ 18”	18.17	Aquarius
2023 Dec 08	22h 35m 47s	-13° 02’ 58”	18.19	Aquarius
2023 Dec 09	22h 36m 05s	-13° 07’ 29”	18.22	Aquarius
2023 Dec 10	22h 36m 24s	-13° 11’ 52”	18.25	Aquarius
2023 Dec 11	22h 36m 45s	-13° 16’ 05”	18.28	Aquarius
2023 Dec 12	22h 37m 05s	-13° 20’ 08”	18.30	Aquarius
2023 Dec 13	22h 37m 27s	-13° 24’ 02”	18.33	Aquarius
2023 Dec 14	22h 37m 49s	-13° 27’ 50”	18.35	Aquarius
2023 Dec 15	22h 38m 12s	-13° 31’ 27”	18.38	Aquarius
2023 Dec 16	22h 38m 35s	-13° 34’ 58”	18.41	Aquarius