C/2011 L4, usually called Comet PANSTARRS, is a long-period comet discovered by the Pan-STARRS telescope on Haleakala in Hawaii when it was still far beyond Jupiter. It was identified as a possible naked-eye object early, as it was bright for its distance. It came closest to the Sun in 2013, and in March of that year it was visible to the naked eye low in the evening twilight in the Northern Hemisphere, with a faint curved tail, drawing widespread media attention. The comet was on its first known trip through the inner solar system and is thought to have originated in the Oort cloud, the distant reservoir of icy bodies surrounding the Sun. It is now heading back out on an orbit lasting many thousands of years.
Before and after
- 2 May 2011Death of Osama bin Laden
- from 3 May 2011 to 24 June 2019Premiere of The Amazing World of Gumball
- 11 May 2011Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence
- June 2011Rinderpest is declared eradicated
- 6 June 2011Discovery of C/2011 L4
- from 23 June 2011 to 25 September 2019Premiere of Suits
- 28 June 2011Discovery of Kerberos
- 1 July 2011Wedding of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Charlene Wittstock
- 8 July 2011Launch of STS-135
More in Universe & space
- 16 February 1948Discovery of Miranda
- 5 September 1977Launch of Voyager 1
- 4 March 1979Discovery of Metis
- 8 July 1979Discovery of Adrastea
- 24 April 1990Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
- 25 December 2021Launch of James Webb Space Telescope
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.