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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 5:57  ☀️ Transit: 12:05  🌅 Sunset: 18:14

Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS)

Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Leo Minor. The current Right Ascension of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is 10h 43m 15s and the Declination is +26° 08’ 19” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is 16.90 (JPL).

10h 43m 15s
+26° 08’ 19”
Leo Minor
16.90

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 63.9°
Max altitude: 64.7°
Azimuth: 296.1°
  • P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 26° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, P/2023 B1 (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 P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet P/2023 B1 (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.

Map showing Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) in Leo Minor on March, 23 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) in Leo Minor on March, 23 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS)
RA: 10h 43m 15s
Dec: +26° 08’ 19”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is currently 790,924,351 kilometers, equivalent to 5.287003 Astronomical Units. Light takes 43 minutes and 58.2397 seconds to travel from Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

790,924,351
5.287003
43 minutes and 58.2397 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet P/2023 B1 (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 P/2023 B1 (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 P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) to Earth

Between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) to Earth happens on Sun Feb 19 2079 at a distance of 5.132037 Astronomical Units, or 767,741,795 kilometers:

Sun Feb 19 2079
767,741,795
5.132037

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

Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is 16.90.

16.90
-
-

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 P/2023 B1 (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 P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) as a function of time

Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) at epoch 22 January 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459967.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.12857880
Orbit inclination i 14.58349116°
Perihelion distance q 6.13395335 AU
917,626,362 km
Aphelion distance Q 7.94409140 AU
1,188,419,161 km
Semi-major axis a 7.03902238 AU
1,053,022,762 km
Orbital period period 18.6757 years
6,821.2968 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Jun-14 17:53:26
2,460,110.2455 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 84.662211811993°
Longitude of the ascending node node 78.520004492572°
Mean anomaly M 352.46648195114°
Mean motion n 0.05277589°/day

Visualization of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet P/2023 B1 (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 P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS)
View Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 16 10h 46m 21s +25° 59’ 09” 16.88 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 17 10h 45m 56s +26° 00’ 38” 16.88 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 18 10h 45m 30s +26° 02’ 03” 16.88 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 19 10h 45m 06s +26° 03’ 20” 16.88 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 20 10h 44m 43s +26° 04’ 33” 16.89 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 21 10h 44m 18s +26° 05’ 41” 16.89 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 22 10h 43m 54s +26° 06’ 45” 16.89 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 23 10h 43m 32s +26° 07’ 42” 16.89 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 24 10h 43m 09s +26° 08’ 35” 16.90 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 25 10h 42m 47s +26° 09’ 21” 16.90 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 26 10h 42m 24s +26° 10’ 03” 16.90 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 27 10h 42m 02s +26° 10’ 38” 16.91 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 28 10h 41m 42s +26° 11’ 09” 16.91 Leo Minor
2023 Mar 29 10h 41m 21s +26° 11’ 35” 16.91 Leo Minor