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Comets » 

Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 10:44 | Tran: 19:25 | Set: 4:10
Alt: -9.13°   Az: 342.36°   Direction: North-North-West

Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of 1,590,830,365.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 10h 24m 02s and the Declination is +27° 30’ 32” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) is 18.88 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) in Leo on May, 21 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) in Leo on May, 21 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: 10h 22m 37s
Dec: +27° 38’ 16”
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

10h 24m 02s
+27° 30’ 32”
10h 41m 08s
21h 05m 11s

J2000

10h 22m 37s
+27° 38’ 16”

Additional Information

Leo
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.88

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: 62.5°
Max altitude: 66.0°
Azimuth: 297.5°
  • C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • 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 1,590,830,365.0 kilometers, equivalent to 10.6340441716 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 28m 26.439s to travel from Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

1,590,830,365.0
10.6340441716
1h 28m 26.439s

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 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Wed Apr 20 2022 at a distance of 7.849439 Astronomical Units, or 1,174,259,311 kilometers:

Wed Apr 20 2022
1,174,259,311
7.849439

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 30 March 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459669.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00480738
Orbit inclination i 163.58358590°
Perihelion distance q 8.81704554 AU
1,319,011,241 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Jul-15 21:56:15
2,459,776.4141 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 48.361627345278°
Longitude of the ascending node node 250.26765727815°
Mean anomaly M -0.0013415802793733°
Mean motion n 0.00001255°/day
2h1>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 May 14 10h 25m 31s +27° 35’ 43” 18.84 Leo
2025 May 15 10h 25m 17s +27° 35’ 06” 18.85 Leo
2025 May 16 10h 25m 04s +27° 34’ 28” 18.85 Leo
2025 May 17 10h 24m 51s +27° 33’ 47” 18.86 Leo
2025 May 18 10h 24m 39s +27° 33’ 04” 18.86 Leo
2025 May 19 10h 24m 27s +27° 32’ 18” 18.87 Leo
2025 May 20 10h 24m 16s +27° 31’ 31” 18.87 Leo
2025 May 21 10h 24m 05s +27° 30’ 42” 18.88 Leo
2025 May 22 10h 23m 54s +27° 29’ 51” 18.88 Leo
2025 May 23 10h 23m 44s +27° 28’ 58” 18.89 Leo
2025 May 24 10h 23m 34s +27° 28’ 03” 18.89 Leo
2025 May 25 10h 23m 25s +27° 27’ 07” 18.90 Leo
2025 May 26 10h 23m 16s +27° 26’ 08” 18.90 Leo
2025 May 27 10h 23m 07s +27° 25’ 08” 18.91 Leo

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