Comet 364P/PANSTARRS
Comet 364P/PANSTARRS is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 4.9 years. It was discovered by the Pan-STARRS survey on February 13, 2013. It has a highly elliptical orbit with a perihelion distance of 0.8 astronomical units (AU) and an aphelion distance of 4.9 AU. The comet is classified as a Jupiter-family comet, meaning its orbit is controlled and highly influenced by Jupiter's gravity. The next perihelion passage happens on May 11, 2023, and the next one after that will happen in April 2028.
Comet 364P/PANSTARRS is currently in the constellation of Aries, at a distance of 699,773,458 kilometers from Earth.
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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 364P/PANSTARRS from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 364P/PANSTARRS is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Right now it is placed in the West-North-West direction at an altitude of 4° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 364P/PANSTARRS is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Comet 364P/PANSTARRS Position and Finder Charts
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 364P/PANSTARRS is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 364P/PANSTARRS?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 364P/PANSTARRS in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 364P/PANSTARRS Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS from Earth is currently 699,773,458 kilometers, equivalent to 4.677697 Astronomical Units. Light takes 38 minutes and 54.1930 seconds to travel from Comet 364P/PANSTARRS and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 364P/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 364P/PANSTARRS from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS to Earth
Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS to Earth happens on Sat Apr 8 2023 at a distance of 0.120731 Astronomical Units, or 18,061,047 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 364P/PANSTARRS Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 364P/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 364P/PANSTARRS Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS at epoch 12 May 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457886.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.72258802 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 12.15537139° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.79809092 AU 119,392,703 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.95574082 AU 741,368,275 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.87691587 AU 430,380,489 km |
| Orbital period | period |
4.8798 years 1,782.3343 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-Jun-24 09:34:07 2,458,293.8987 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2023-May-11 17:35 2,460,076.2330 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 211.92656439741° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 46.228328327998° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 277.71267078185° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.20198231°/day |
Visualization of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 364P/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!
View Comet 364P/PANSTARRS in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 364P/PANSTARRS 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 364P/PANSTARRS computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 364P/PANSTARRS in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 May 08 | 02h 59m 29s | +17° 13’ 04” | 26.09 | Aries |
| 2024 May 09 | 03h 00m 34s | +17° 18’ 34” | 26.10 | Aries |
| 2024 May 10 | 03h 01m 41s | +17° 24’ 03” | 26.11 | Aries |
| 2024 May 11 | 03h 02m 45s | +17° 29’ 30” | 26.12 | Aries |
| 2024 May 12 | 03h 03m 51s | +17° 34’ 54” | 26.13 | Aries |
| 2024 May 13 | 03h 04m 57s | +17° 40’ 17” | 26.14 | Aries |
| 2024 May 14 | 03h 06m 02s | +17° 45’ 37” | 26.15 | Aries |
| 2024 May 15 | 03h 07m 08s | +17° 50’ 54” | 26.16 | Aries |
| 2024 May 16 | 03h 08m 12s | +17° 56’ 11” | 26.17 | Aries |
| 2024 May 17 | 03h 09m 17s | +18° 01’ 23” | 26.18 | Aries |
| 2024 May 18 | 03h 10m 23s | +18° 06’ 35” | 26.18 | Aries |
| 2024 May 19 | 03h 11m 26s | +18° 11’ 44” | 26.19 | Aries |
| 2024 May 20 | 03h 12m 32s | +18° 16’ 51” | 26.20 | Aries |
| 2024 May 21 | 03h 13m 36s | +18° 21’ 56” | 26.21 | Aries |