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Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 15:57 | Tran: 21:45 | Set: 3:37
Alt: 5.75°   Az: 259.44°   Direction: South-West

Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 712,519,523.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 15h 06m 41s and the Declination is -02° 00’ 44” (apparent coordinates). The latest observed magnitude of comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) is 14.4 (data provided by COBS).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) in the constellation of Libra on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) in the constellation of Libra 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/2021 G2 (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/2021 G2 (Atlas)
RA: 15h 05m 22s
Dec: -01° 54’ 52”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

15h 06m 41s
-02° 00’ 44”
05h 12m 38s
20h 19m 19s

J2000

15h 05m 22s
-01° 54’ 52”

Additional Information

Libra
14.4
0.8'
n/a
2025-06-25
15.11

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/2021 G2 (Atlas) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 92.0°
Max altitude: 36.6°
Azimuth: 268.0°

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/2021 G2 (Atlas) from Earth is currently 712,519,523.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.7628988278 Astronomical Units. Light takes 39m 36.709s to travel from comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) and arrive to us.

712,519,523.0
4.7628988278
39m 36.709s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2021 G2 (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/2021 G2 (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/2021 G2 (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/2021 G2 (Atlas) to Earth happened on Monday 15 April 2024 at a distance of 4.237828 Astronomical Units, or 633,969,999 kilometers:

Monday 15 April 2024
633,969,999
4.237828

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/2021 G2 (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/2021 G2 (Atlas) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) at epoch October, 17 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460235.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99957861
Orbit inclination i 48.47496387°
Perihelion distance q 4.98202589 AU
745,300,466 km
Aphelion distance Q 23,640.71735531 AU
3,536,600,985,267 km
Semi-major axis a 11,822.84969060 AU
1,768,673,142,866 km
Orbital period period 1,285,557.3467 years
469,549,820.8876 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp September 9, 2024
2,460,562.9492 JD
Next perihelion transit June 8, 1287608
472,010,383.8368 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 343.30619149774°
Longitude of the ascending node node 221.09364884833°
Mean anomaly M 359.99974894735°
Mean motion n 0.00000077°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2021 G2 (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/2021 G2 (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 19 2025 15h 07m 52s -02° 29’ 21” 15.05 Libra
Jun 20 2025 15h 07m 40s -02° 24’ 59” 15.06 Libra
Jun 21 2025 15h 07m 29s -02° 20’ 44” 15.07 Libra
Jun 22 2025 15h 07m 18s -02° 16’ 36” 15.08 Libra
Jun 23 2025 15h 07m 09s -02° 12’ 34” 15.08 Libra
Jun 24 2025 15h 06m 59s -02° 08’ 37” 15.09 Libra
Jun 25 2025 15h 06m 50s -02° 04’ 47” 15.10 Libra
Jun 26 2025 15h 06m 42s -02° 01’ 02” 15.11 Libra
Jun 27 2025 15h 06m 35s -01° 57’ 25” 15.12 Libra
Jun 28 2025 15h 06m 28s -01° 53’ 53” 15.13 Libra
Jun 29 2025 15h 06m 22s -01° 50’ 26” 15.13 Libra
Jun 30 2025 15h 06m 16s -01° 47’ 06” 15.14 Libra
Jul 01 2025 15h 06m 11s -01° 43’ 51” 15.15 Libra
Jul 02 2025 15h 06m 06s -01° 40’ 42” 15.16 Libra

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