Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
Donate now! You'll help cover server costs, enhance the site and keep it ad-free.
public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:50  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 21:02 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS)

Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Eridanus.

The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) is 02h 54m 51s and the Declination is -06° 29’ 56” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) is 17.18 (JPL).

02h 54m 51s
-06° 29’ 56”
Eridanus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
17.18

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 Y2 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 96.5°
Max altitude: 32.0°
Azimuth: 263.5°
  • C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2020 Y2 (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.

Available Resources

Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Finder chart of C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) in Eridanus on May,30 2023
Map showing Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) in Eridanus on May, 30 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS)
Map showing Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) in Eridanus on May, 30 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS)
RA: 02h 54m 51s
Dec: -06° 29’ 56”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 790,889,427 kilometers, equivalent to 5.286769 Astronomical Units. Light takes 43 minutes and 58.1232 seconds to travel from Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

790,889,427
5.286769
43 minutes and 58.1232 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2020 Y2 (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 Y2 (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 Y2 (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 Y2 (ATLAS) to Earth

Between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Sun Mar 20 2022 at a distance of 2.919558 Astronomical Units, or 436,759,709 kilometers:

Sun Mar 20 2022
436,759,709
2.919558

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

Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2020 Y2 (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 Y2 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) at epoch 26 December 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459575.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99730335
Orbit inclination i 101.29636690°
Perihelion distance q 3.13249980 AU
468,615,302 km
Aphelion distance Q 2,320.12034740 AU
347,085,064,435 km
Semi-major axis a 1,161.62642360 AU
173,776,839,868 km
Orbital period period 39,592.0442 years
14,460,994.1512 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Jun-17 16:09:36
2,459,748.1733 JD
Next perihelion transit 41615-Apr-26 19:47
16,920,742.3246 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 266.09925624766°
Longitude of the ascending node node 26.511084345723°
Mean anomaly M 359.99570137424°
Mean motion n 0.00002489°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2020 Y2 (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!

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2020 Y2 (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 Y2 (ATLAS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 May 23 02h 51m 50s -07° 14’ 11” 17.16 Eridanus
2023 May 24 02h 52m 15s -07° 07’ 45” 17.17 Eridanus
2023 May 25 02h 52m 41s -07° 01’ 26” 17.17 Eridanus
2023 May 26 02h 53m 07s -06° 55’ 10” 17.17 Eridanus
2023 May 27 02h 53m 33s -06° 49’ 00” 17.18 Eridanus
2023 May 28 02h 53m 57s -06° 42’ 56” 17.18 Eridanus
2023 May 29 02h 54m 23s -06° 36’ 56” 17.18 Eridanus
2023 May 30 02h 54m 47s -06° 31’ 01” 17.18 Eridanus
2023 May 31 02h 55m 10s -06° 25’ 11” 17.19 Eridanus
2023 Jun 01 02h 55m 35s -06° 19’ 27” 17.19 Eridanus
2023 Jun 02 02h 55m 59s -06° 13’ 48” 17.19 Eridanus
2023 Jun 03 02h 56m 22s -06° 08’ 12” 17.19 Eridanus
2023 Jun 04 02h 56m 45s -06° 02’ 43” 17.20 Eridanus
2023 Jun 05 02h 57m 07s -05° 57’ 18” 17.20 Eridanus