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Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 40.00°   Az: 39.35°   Direction: North-East

Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Draco, at a distance of 1,174,390,929.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 15h 10m 27s and the Declination is +60° 40’ 21” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) is 19.58 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) in Draco on February, 15 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) in Draco 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 R7 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2020 R7 (ATLAS)
RA: 15h 09m 53s
Dec: +60° 46’ 01”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

15h 10m 27s
+60° 40’ 21”
17h 30m 19s
08h 40m 47s

J2000

15h 09m 53s
+60° 46’ 01”

Additional Information

Draco
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.58

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 R7 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) is circumpolar and transits at 05:28 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 80.8°.
  • C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the North-East direction at an altitude of 40.00° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2020 R7 (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 R7 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 1,174,390,929.0 kilometers, equivalent to 7.8503184805 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 5m 17.346s to travel from Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

1,174,390,929.0
7.8503184805
1h 5m 17.346s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 R7 (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 R7 (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 R7 (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 R7 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Fri Jul 15 2022 at a distance of 2.181064 Astronomical Units, or 326,282,504 kilometers:

Fri Jul 15 2022
326,282,504
2.181064

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 R7 (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 R7 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) at epoch 15 February 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459626.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00001380
Orbit inclination i 114.89152319°
Perihelion distance q 2.95613077 AU
442,230,870 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Sep-16 04:52:09
2,459,838.7029 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 347.82553830029°
Longitude of the ascending node node 268.28026251837°
Mean anomaly M -2.1102646001987E-6°
Mean motion n 0.00000001°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 R7 (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 15h 12m 34s +59° 26’ 31” 19.56 Draco
2025 Feb 09 15h 12m 22s +59° 35’ 49” 19.57 Draco
2025 Feb 10 15h 12m 09s +59° 45’ 08” 19.57 Draco
2025 Feb 11 15h 11m 55s +59° 54’ 25” 19.57 Draco
2025 Feb 12 15h 11m 40s +60° 03’ 43” 19.57 Draco
2025 Feb 13 15h 11m 22s +60° 13’ 00” 19.58 Draco
2025 Feb 14 15h 11m 05s +60° 22’ 16” 19.58 Draco
2025 Feb 15 15h 10m 46s +60° 31’ 32” 19.58 Draco
2025 Feb 16 15h 10m 26s +60° 40’ 46” 19.58 Draco
2025 Feb 17 15h 10m 04s +60° 49’ 59” 19.59 Draco
2025 Feb 18 15h 09m 41s +60° 59’ 11” 19.59 Draco
2025 Feb 19 15h 09m 18s +61° 08’ 20” 19.59 Draco
2025 Feb 20 15h 08m 53s +61° 17’ 29” 19.60 Draco
2025 Feb 21 15h 08m 26s +61° 26’ 35” 19.60 Draco

Additional Resources