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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:03  ☀️ Transit: 12:06  🌅 Sunset: 18:09

Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4)

Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) is currently in the constellation of Monoceros. The current Right Ascension of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) is 06h 43m 47s and the Declination is +08° 04’ 11” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) is 24.16 (JPL).

06h 43m 47s
+08° 04’ 11”
Monoceros
24.16

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 81.9°
Max altitude: 46.6°
Azimuth: 278.0°
  • C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the South direction at an altitude of 47° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

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.

Available Resources

Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Map showing Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) in Monoceros on March, 20 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) in Monoceros on March, 20 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)
RA: 06h 43m 47s
Dec: +08° 04’ 11”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) from Earth is currently 1,616,452,615 kilometers, equivalent to 10.805318 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 29 minutes and 51.9055 seconds to travel from Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) and arrive to us.

1,616,452,615
10.805318
1 hours, 29 minutes and 51.9055 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) 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.

Chart of the distance of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) to Earth happens on Sun May 24 2020 at a distance of 0.785983 Astronomical Units, or 117,581,331 kilometers:

Sun May 24 2020
117,581,331
0.785983

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

Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) is 24.16.

24.16
-
-

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 ATLAS (C/2019 Y4), 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) as a function of time

Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) at epoch 08 April 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458948.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00220952
Orbit inclination i 45.98190846°
Perihelion distance q 0.25034836 AU
37,451,582 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2020-May-31 01:06:56
2,459,000.5465 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 177.18432752223°
Longitude of the ascending node node 121.04661873201°
Mean anomaly M -0.042532965091786°
Mean motion n 0.00081721°/day

Visualization of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) 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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4)
View Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 13 06h 44m 17s +07° 50’ 48” 24.12 Monoceros
2023 Mar 14 06h 44m 12s +07° 52’ 33” 24.12 Monoceros
2023 Mar 15 06h 44m 08s +07° 54’ 18” 24.13 Monoceros
2023 Mar 16 06h 44m 03s +07° 56’ 02” 24.13 Monoceros
2023 Mar 17 06h 43m 59s +07° 57’ 45” 24.14 Monoceros
2023 Mar 18 06h 43m 55s +07° 59’ 27” 24.15 Monoceros
2023 Mar 19 06h 43m 51s +08° 01’ 10” 24.15 Monoceros
2023 Mar 20 06h 43m 49s +08° 02’ 52” 24.16 Monoceros
2023 Mar 21 06h 43m 46s +08° 04’ 33” 24.16 Monoceros
2023 Mar 22 06h 43m 45s +08° 06’ 14” 24.17 Monoceros
2023 Mar 23 06h 43m 42s +08° 07’ 54” 24.18 Monoceros
2023 Mar 24 06h 43m 41s +08° 09’ 33” 24.18 Monoceros
2023 Mar 25 06h 43m 41s +08° 11’ 12” 24.19 Monoceros
2023 Mar 26 06h 43m 40s +08° 12’ 51” 24.19 Monoceros