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Comets » 

Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 1:42 | Tran: 6:09 | Set: 10:36
Alt: -55.69°   Az: 1.21°   Direction: North

Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of 758,722,057.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 15h 28m 08s and the Declination is -17° 10’ 39” (apparent coordinates). The latest observed magnitude of Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) is 14.0 (data provided by COBS).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) in Libra on February, 09 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) in Libra on February, 09 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2021 G2 (Atlas)
RA: 15h 26m 43s
Dec: -17° 05’ 28”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

15h 28m 08s
-17° 10’ 39”
12h 02m 51s
03h 31m 00s

J2000

15h 26m 43s
-17° 05’ 28”

Additional Information

Libra
14.0
1.2'
3.1'
2025-02-04
14.94

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

Azimuth: 107.2°
Max altitude: 21.3°
Azimuth: 252.8°
  • C/2021 G2 (Atlas) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2021 G2 (Atlas) is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 14 inches (350mm) or more.
  • 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/2021 G2 (Atlas) from Earth is currently 758,722,057.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.0717436916 Astronomical Units. Light takes 42m 10.824s to travel from Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) and arrive to us.

758,722,057.0
5.0717436916
42m 10.824s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2021 G2 (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/2021 G2 (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/2021 G2 (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/2021 G2 (Atlas) to Earth happens on Mon Apr 15 2024 at a distance of 4.237736 Astronomical Units, or 633,956,301 kilometers:

Mon Apr 15 2024
633,956,301
4.237736

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/2021 G2 (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/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 27 July 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459788.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99882083
Orbit inclination i 48.47251345°
Perihelion distance q 4.97959854 AU
744,937,340 km
Aphelion distance Q 8,440.97844756 AU
1,262,752,404,912 km
Semi-major axis a 4,222.97902305 AU
631,748,671,126 km
Orbital period period 274,433.1613 years
100,236,712.1727 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2024-Sep-09 22:32:55
2,460,563.4395 JD
Next perihelion transit 276463-Jun-28 02:41
102,697,275.6122 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 343.35883101016°
Longitude of the ascending node node 221.10788253081°
Mean anomaly M 359.99721680586°
Mean motion n 0.00000359°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas)
View Comet C/2021 G2 (Atlas) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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
2025 Feb 02 15h 24m 20s -17° 41’ 21” 14.98 Libra
2025 Feb 03 15h 24m 52s -17° 37’ 39” 14.98 Libra
2025 Feb 04 15h 25m 23s -17° 33’ 52” 14.97 Libra
2025 Feb 05 15h 25m 53s -17° 30’ 01” 14.97 Libra
2025 Feb 06 15h 26m 23s -17° 26’ 05” 14.96 Libra
2025 Feb 07 15h 26m 52s -17° 22’ 05” 14.96 Libra
2025 Feb 08 15h 27m 20s -17° 18’ 01” 14.95 Libra
2025 Feb 09 15h 27m 48s -17° 13’ 51” 14.95 Libra
2025 Feb 10 15h 28m 15s -17° 09’ 37” 14.94 Libra
2025 Feb 11 15h 28m 41s -17° 05’ 18” 14.94 Libra
2025 Feb 12 15h 29m 07s -17° 00’ 55” 14.93 Libra
2025 Feb 13 15h 29m 32s -16° 56’ 27” 14.93 Libra
2025 Feb 14 15h 29m 56s -16° 51’ 53” 14.92 Libra
2025 Feb 15 15h 30m 19s -16° 47’ 16” 14.92 Libra

Additional Resources