Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS)
Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) Position
Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Andromeda. The current Right Ascension is 00h 56m 57s and the Declination is +23° 08’ 31”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) is right now (view fullscreen)
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
The distance of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 734,966,100 kilometers, equivalent to 4.912945 Astronomical Units. Light takes 40 minutes and 51.5830 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 2.60580664 Astronomical Units, or 389,823,125 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 18.86.
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
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
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.
Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) at epoch 25 October 2018 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458417.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.99336703 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 139.56185759° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 3.27672036 AU 490,190,389 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
984.73312209 AU 147,313,978,567 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
494.00492122 AU 73,902,084,478 km |
| Orbital period | period |
10,980.0700 years 4,010,470.6270 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2019-Jan-12 20:42:51 2,458,496.3631 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 12999-Apr-30 11:45 6,468,966.9901 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 86.425679412069° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 194.27870078928° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 359.99292085213° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00008977°/day |
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!
View Comet C/2018 A3 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
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 Jan 20 | 00h 56m 06s | +24° 09’ 07” | 18.74 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 21 | 00h 56m 09s | +24° 00’ 47” | 18.75 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 22 | 00h 56m 14s | +23° 52’ 36” | 18.77 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 23 | 00h 56m 21s | +23° 44’ 38” | 18.78 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 24 | 00h 56m 26s | +23° 36’ 48” | 18.80 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 25 | 00h 56m 34s | +23° 29’ 09” | 18.82 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 26 | 00h 56m 41s | +23° 21’ 42” | 18.83 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 27 | 00h 56m 49s | +23° 14’ 23” | 18.85 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 28 | 00h 56m 58s | +23° 07’ 15” | 18.86 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 29 | 00h 57m 09s | +23° 00’ 16” | 18.88 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 30 | 00h 57m 20s | +22° 53’ 29” | 18.89 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Jan 31 | 00h 57m 30s | +22° 46’ 49” | 18.91 | Andromeda |
| 2020 Feb 01 | 00h 57m 42s | +22° 40’ 19” | 18.93 | Pisces |
| 2020 Feb 02 | 00h 57m 55s | +22° 33’ 59” | 18.94 | Pisces |