Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS)

Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Pisces. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) is 00h 52m 26s and the Declination is +08° 44’ 47” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) is 19.80 (JPL).

Summary of key facts about Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:

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.

Additional information about Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) available on TheSkyLive:

Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) from Earth?)
• Rise and set times (see also When does Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) rise and set?)
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 827,348,436 kilometers, equivalent to 5.530483 Astronomical Units. Light takes 45 minutes and 59.7373 seconds to travel from Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) 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 C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest approach of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) to Earth

Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Thu Jan 10 2019 at a distance of 2.605805 Astronomical Units, or 389,822,918 kilometers:

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

Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) is 19.80.

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 C/2018 A3 (ATLAS), 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 C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) rise and set times

Today's Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.

Visualization of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) 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!

Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2020 Oct 12	00h 58m 41s	+09° 48’ 10”	19.75	Pisces
2020 Oct 13	00h 57m 54s	+09° 40’ 08”	19.76	Pisces
2020 Oct 14	00h 57m 06s	+09° 32’ 04”	19.76	Pisces
2020 Oct 15	00h 56m 17s	+09° 24’ 03”	19.77	Pisces
2020 Oct 16	00h 55m 30s	+09° 16’ 03”	19.78	Pisces
2020 Oct 17	00h 54m 42s	+09° 08’ 03”	19.78	Pisces
2020 Oct 18	00h 53m 56s	+09° 00’ 05”	19.79	Pisces
2020 Oct 19	00h 53m 09s	+08° 52’ 08”	19.80	Pisces
2020 Oct 20	00h 52m 23s	+08° 44’ 12”	19.80	Pisces
2020 Oct 21	00h 51m 37s	+08° 36’ 19”	19.81	Pisces
2020 Oct 22	00h 50m 52s	+08° 28’ 27”	19.82	Pisces
2020 Oct 23	00h 50m 07s	+08° 20’ 39”	19.82	Pisces
2020 Oct 24	00h 49m 22s	+08° 12’ 51”	19.83	Pisces
2020 Oct 25	00h 48m 38s	+08° 05’ 07”	19.84	Pisces