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Comets » 

Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 25.63°   Az: 3.08°   Direction: North

Comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Draco, at a distance of 1,408,301,914.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 12h 58m 25s and the Declination is +64° 02’ 51” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 20.69).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Draco on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Draco on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

C/2020 R7 (ATLAS)
RA: 12h 57m 25s
Dec: +64° 11’ 06”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

12h 58m 25s
+64° 02’ 51”
12h 25m 24s
01h 23m 49s

J2000

12h 57m 25s
+64° 11’ 06”

Additional Information

Draco
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.69

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

The following table lists 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 18:06 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 77.4°.

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 1,408,301,914.0 kilometers, equivalent to 9.4139168386 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 18m 17.590s to travel from comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

1,408,301,914.0
9.4139168386
1h 18m 17.590s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

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 tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) to Earth happened on Friday 15 July 2022 at a distance of 2.181087 Astronomical Units, or 326,286,008 kilometers:

Friday 15 July 2022
326,286,008
2.181087

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

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 February, 01 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459977.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00021432
Orbit inclination i 114.89395392°
Perihelion distance q 2.95601253 AU
442,213,181 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp September 16, 2022
2,459,838.7524 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 347.84139221663°
Longitude of the ascending node node 268.28259905159°
Mean anomaly M 8.4423023363899E-5°
Mean motion n 0.00000061°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2020 R7 (ATLAS) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

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
Jun 27 2025 13h 00m 39s +64° 39’ 50” 20.66 Draco
Jun 28 2025 13h 00m 17s +64° 34’ 48” 20.66 Draco
Jun 29 2025 12h 59m 58s +64° 29’ 45” 20.66 Draco
Jun 30 2025 12h 59m 38s +64° 24’ 40” 20.67 Draco
Jul 01 2025 12h 59m 19s +64° 19’ 35” 20.67 Draco
Jul 02 2025 12h 59m 02s +64° 14’ 29” 20.68 Draco
Jul 03 2025 12h 58m 45s +64° 09’ 22” 20.68 Draco
Jul 04 2025 12h 58m 29s +64° 04’ 15” 20.69 Draco
Jul 05 2025 12h 58m 15s +63° 59’ 08” 20.69 Draco
Jul 06 2025 12h 58m 02s +63° 54’ 00” 20.70 Draco
Jul 07 2025 12h 57m 50s +63° 48’ 51” 20.70 Draco
Jul 08 2025 12h 57m 38s +63° 43’ 44” 20.70 Draco
Jul 09 2025 12h 57m 28s +63° 38’ 36” 20.71 Draco
Jul 10 2025 12h 57m 18s +63° 33’ 28” 20.71 Draco

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