About C/2011 P2 (PANSTARRS)
C/2011 P2 (PANSTARRS) is a rare comet. It swings within 6.148 AU of the Sun at perihelion.
A Chiron-type comet, orbiting out among the giant planets rather than diving into the inner Solar System.
Rare comet 46 EP
C/2011 P2 (PANSTARRS)
Position computed live · sbdb
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Live ephemeris
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Score breakdown
· 4 badgesRare 50 pts → Epic
- Chiron-type comet +22
- Never comes near the Sun +10
- Has a proper name +8
- Comet +6
Total score 46
4 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Comet · +6
- Has a proper name · +8
- Chiron-type comet · +22
- Never comes near the Sun · +10
Trivia
What it actually is
- Its orbit family. A Chiron-type comet, orbiting out among the giant planets rather than diving into the inner Solar System.
- Closest approach. At its nearest it comes within 6.15 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Saturn.
- One lap. A single orbit around the Sun takes it about 30.5 years.
- How far it roams. Its orbit swings between 6.15 and 13.36 AU from the Sun.
Standing on it
- Tail. Its tail always points away from the Sun, never trailing behind its motion — it is blown, not dragged.
By the numbers
- Made of. A comet is a dirty snowball: water ice, frozen carbon dioxide and dust, held together loosely enough that some simply crumble when the Sun warms them.
What's in a name
- Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Properties
- aphelion au
- 13.36
- designation
- 2011 P2
- eccentricity
- 0.3698
- full name
- C/2011 P2 (PANSTARRS)
- inclination
- 8.99
- mean motion deg day
- 0.0323
- moid au
- 5.15
- name
- C/2011 P2 (PANSTARRS)
- named
- yes
- orbit class
- CTc
- perihelion au
- 6.148
- semi major au
- 9.756
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, C/2011 P2 (PANSTARRS) is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. Because it moves against the background stars, the live position panel on this page tracks where it is right now. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why C/2011 P2 (PANSTARRS) is a rare comet
C/2011 P2 (PANSTARRS) scores 46 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Comet, Has a proper name, Chiron-type comet and Never comes near the Sun — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.