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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:43  
clear_day Transit: 11:47  
SunsetSet: 15:52 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)

Altitude: 28.5°   Azimuth: 245.5°   Direction: West-South-West

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Orion.

The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is 06h 00m 06s and the Declination is +08° 25’ 47” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is 27.59 (JPL).

06h 00m 06s
+08° 25’ 47”
Orion
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
27.59

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/2021 K1 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 81.6°
Max altitude: 47.0°
Azimuth: 278.4°
  • C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 28° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2021 K1 (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/2021 K1 (ATLAS) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet C/2021 K1 (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/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in Orion on December,02 2023
Map showing Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in Orion on December, 02 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)
Map showing Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in Orion on December, 02 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)
RA: 06h 00m 06s
Dec: +08° 25’ 47”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 1,015,556,304 kilometers, equivalent to 6.788575 Astronomical Units. Light takes 56 minutes and 27.5312 seconds to travel from Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

1,015,556,304
6.788575
56 minutes and 27.5312 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2021 K1 (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 K1 (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 K1 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Sat Aug 15 2065 at a distance of 1.477420 Astronomical Units, or 221,018,939 kilometers:

Sat Aug 15 2065
221,018,939
1.477420

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

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2021 K1 (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 K1 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) at epoch 18 August 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459445.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.80399384
Orbit inclination i 16.27606739°
Perihelion distance q 2.49783183 AU
373,670,323 km
Aphelion distance Q 22.98944647 AU
3,439,172,247 km
Semi-major axis a 12.74363915 AU
1,906,421,285 km
Orbital period period 45.4934 years
16,616.4645 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-May-04 13:50:34
2,459,339.0768 JD
Next perihelion transit 2066-Nov-01 00:59
2,475,955.5413 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 184.30382098948°
Longitude of the ascending node node 140.90565587147°
Mean anomaly M 2.3056864316312°
Mean motion n 0.02166526°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2021 K1 (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/2021 K1 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2021 K1 (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/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 25 06h 02m 57s +08° 28’ 38” 27.55 Orion
2023 Nov 26 06h 02m 34s +08° 28’ 09” 27.56 Orion
2023 Nov 27 06h 02m 11s +08° 27’ 41” 27.56 Orion
2023 Nov 28 06h 01m 48s +08° 27’ 15” 27.57 Orion
2023 Nov 29 06h 01m 23s +08° 26’ 50” 27.57 Orion
2023 Nov 30 06h 01m 00s +08° 26’ 29” 27.58 Orion
2023 Dec 01 06h 00m 35s +08° 26’ 09” 27.59 Orion
2023 Dec 02 06h 00m 11s +08° 25’ 51” 27.59 Orion
2023 Dec 03 05h 59m 47s +08° 25’ 36” 27.60 Orion
2023 Dec 04 05h 59m 21s +08° 25’ 23” 27.60 Orion
2023 Dec 05 05h 58m 56s +08° 25’ 11” 27.61 Orion
2023 Dec 06 05h 58m 32s +08° 25’ 03” 27.62 Orion
2023 Dec 07 05h 58m 06s +08° 24’ 56” 27.62 Orion
2023 Dec 08 05h 57m 42s +08° 24’ 51” 27.63 Orion