Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS)

Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Coma.

The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) is 12h 17m 21s and the Declination is +23° 13’ 36” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) is 25.08 (JPL).

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) from Earth?)
• When does Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2020 M3 (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/2020 M3 (ATLAS) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 1,319,096,752 kilometers, equivalent to 8.817617 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1 hours, 13 minutes and 20.0331 seconds to travel from Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 M3 (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/2020 M3 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Sat Nov 14 2020 at a distance of 0.358402 Astronomical Units, or 53,616,174 kilometers:

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

Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2020 M3 (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.

Visualization of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2020 M3 (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/2020 M3 (ATLAS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 M3 (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/2020 M3 (ATLAS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 May 26	12h 18m 12s	+23° 29’ 53”	25.02	Coma
2023 May 27	12h 18m 05s	+23° 27’ 52”	25.03	Coma
2023 May 28	12h 17m 57s	+23° 25’ 50”	25.04	Coma
2023 May 29	12h 17m 48s	+23° 23’ 43”	25.04	Coma
2023 May 30	12h 17m 41s	+23° 21’ 33”	25.05	Coma
2023 May 31	12h 17m 35s	+23° 19’ 21”	25.06	Coma
2023 Jun 01	12h 17m 30s	+23° 17’ 06”	25.06	Coma
2023 Jun 02	12h 17m 23s	+23° 14’ 48”	25.07	Coma
2023 Jun 03	12h 17m 18s	+23° 12’ 28”	25.08	Coma
2023 Jun 04	12h 17m 13s	+23° 10’ 05”	25.09	Coma
2023 Jun 05	12h 17m 08s	+23° 07’ 39”	25.09	Coma
2023 Jun 06	12h 17m 04s	+23° 05’ 11”	25.10	Coma
2023 Jun 07	12h 17m 02s	+23° 02’ 39”	25.11	Coma
2023 Jun 08	12h 16m 59s	+23° 00’ 06”	25.12	Coma