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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:38  
clear_day Transit: 11:46  
SunsetSet: 15:54 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS)

Altitude: -24.5°   Azimuth: 336.0°   Direction: North-North-West

Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is currently in the constellation of Virgo.

The current Right Ascension of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is 12h 34m 42s and the Declination is +11° 09’ 00” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is 17.36 (JPL).

12h 34m 42s
+11° 09’ 00”
Virgo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
17.36

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 P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 78.8°
Max altitude: 49.7°
Azimuth: 281.2°
  • P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • 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.

Finder chart of P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) in Virgo on November,29 2023
Map showing Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) in Virgo on November, 29 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS)
Map showing Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) in Virgo on November, 29 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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: 12h 34m 42s
Dec: +11° 09’ 00”
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 974,203,714 kilometers, equivalent to 6.512150 Astronomical Units. Light takes 54 minutes and 9.5938 seconds to travel from Comet P/2023 B1 (PANSTARRS) and arrive to us.

974,203,714
6.512150
54 minutes and 9.5938 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 and Light Curve

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
Next perihelion transit 2042-Feb-16 01:00
2,466,931.5422 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 Nov 22 12h 30m 21s +11° 23’ 26” 17.39 Virgo
2023 Nov 23 12h 30m 56s +11° 21’ 23” 17.39 Virgo
2023 Nov 24 12h 31m 31s +11° 19’ 23” 17.38 Virgo
2023 Nov 25 12h 32m 04s +11° 17’ 26” 17.38 Virgo
2023 Nov 26 12h 32m 39s +11° 15’ 33” 17.37 Virgo
2023 Nov 27 12h 33m 11s +11° 13’ 45” 17.37 Virgo
2023 Nov 28 12h 33m 44s +11° 11’ 59” 17.36 Virgo
2023 Nov 29 12h 34m 18s +11° 10’ 18” 17.36 Virgo
2023 Nov 30 12h 34m 50s +11° 08’ 39” 17.36 Virgo
2023 Dec 01 12h 35m 21s +11° 07’ 05” 17.35 Virgo
2023 Dec 02 12h 35m 53s +11° 05’ 35” 17.35 Virgo
2023 Dec 03 12h 36m 24s +11° 04’ 09” 17.34 Virgo
2023 Dec 04 12h 36m 55s +11° 02’ 45” 17.34 Virgo
2023 Dec 05 12h 37m 24s +11° 01’ 27” 17.33 Virgo