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Comets » 

Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 17:00 | Tran: 1:27 | Set: 9:49
Alt: 60.74°   Az: 147.79°   Direction: South-South-East

Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of 1,409,490,154.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 11h 08m 31s and the Declination is +25° 08’ 54” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) is 18.63 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) in Leo on February, 15 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) in Leo on February, 15 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2020 F2 (ATLAS)
RA: 11h 07m 10s
Dec: +25° 17’ 04”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

11h 08m 31s
+25° 08’ 54”
22h 53m 05s
10h 01m 36s

J2000

11h 07m 10s
+25° 17’ 04”

Additional Information

Leo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.63

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted 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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 64.8°
Max altitude: 63.7°
Azimuth: 295.2°
  • C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 60.74° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2020 F2 (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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 1,409,490,154.0 kilometers, equivalent to 9.4218597324 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 18m 21.553s to travel from Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

1,409,490,154.0
9.4218597324
1h 18m 21.553s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 F2 (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.

Chart of the distance of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) 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/2020 F2 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Wed Apr 20 2022 at a distance of 7.849454 Astronomical Units, or 1,174,261,674 kilometers:

Wed Apr 20 2022
1,174,261,674
7.849454

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2020 F2 (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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) at epoch 24 June 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459390.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00363943
Orbit inclination i 163.57893815°
Perihelion distance q 8.81672477 AU
1,318,963,254 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Jul-16 10:39:54
2,459,776.9444 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 48.374948164091°
Longitude of the ascending node node 250.25613477642°
Mean anomaly M -0.0031943326303542°
Mean motion n 0.00000827°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 08 11h 12m 29s +24° 40’ 53” 18.63 Leo
2025 Feb 09 11h 11m 56s +24° 44’ 57” 18.63 Leo
2025 Feb 10 11h 11m 22s +24° 48’ 59” 18.63 Leo
2025 Feb 11 11h 10m 48s +24° 53’ 00” 18.63 Leo
2025 Feb 12 11h 10m 14s +24° 57’ 01” 18.63 Leo
2025 Feb 13 11h 09m 40s +25° 00’ 59” 18.63 Leo
2025 Feb 14 11h 09m 05s +25° 04’ 56” 18.63 Leo
2025 Feb 15 11h 08m 31s +25° 08’ 51” 18.63 Leo
2025 Feb 16 11h 07m 56s +25° 12’ 44” 18.63 Leo Minor
2025 Feb 17 11h 07m 21s +25° 16’ 36” 18.63 Leo Minor
2025 Feb 18 11h 06m 45s +25° 20’ 25” 18.63 Leo Minor
2025 Feb 19 11h 06m 11s +25° 24’ 13” 18.63 Leo Minor
2025 Feb 20 11h 05m 35s +25° 27’ 58” 18.63 Leo Minor
2025 Feb 21 11h 05m 00s +25° 31’ 41” 18.63 Leo Minor

Additional Resources