We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. Learn more.
Help us keep TheSkyLive 100% free & ads-free, donate now!
Home
Search Objects
Major Solar System Objects
Comets
Asteroids
Spacecrafts
Star Maps
Orbits
public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:14 
Transit: 12:14 
Sunset: 17:14
sleep   (Nighttime)  
What's Visible Now • Tonight Timeline
Search  close
Comets » 

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 13:38 | Tran: 20:36 | Set: 3:38
Alt: 44.41°   Az: 219.07°   Direction: South-West

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Orion, at a distance of 1,397,196,107.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 06h 20m 39s and the Declination is +11° 39’ 22” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is 30.42 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in Orion on February, 15 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in Orion on February, 15 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 K1 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)
RA: 06h 19m 15s
Dec: +11° 40’ 05”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

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.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

06h 20m 39s
+11° 39’ 22”
01h 49m 28s
08h 10m 07s

J2000

06h 19m 15s
+11° 40’ 05”

Additional Information

Orion
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
30.42

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 K1 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 78.4°
Max altitude: 50.2°
Azimuth: 281.6°
  • C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-West direction at an altitude of 44.41° 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 1,397,196,107.0 kilometers, equivalent to 9.3396791041 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 17m 40.545s to travel from Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

1,397,196,107.0
9.3396791041
1h 17m 40.545s

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

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, 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.

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

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

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 08 06h 22m 12s +11° 28’ 30” 30.36 Orion
2025 Feb 09 06h 21m 59s +11° 29’ 50” 30.37 Orion
2025 Feb 10 06h 21m 47s +11° 31’ 12” 30.37 Orion
2025 Feb 11 06h 21m 34s +11° 32’ 33” 30.38 Orion
2025 Feb 12 06h 21m 23s +11° 33’ 55” 30.39 Orion
2025 Feb 13 06h 21m 11s +11° 35’ 18” 30.40 Orion
2025 Feb 14 06h 21m 00s +11° 36’ 40” 30.41 Orion
2025 Feb 15 06h 20m 49s +11° 38’ 04” 30.41 Orion
2025 Feb 16 06h 20m 39s +11° 39’ 27” 30.42 Orion
2025 Feb 17 06h 20m 29s +11° 40’ 50” 30.43 Orion
2025 Feb 18 06h 20m 20s +11° 42’ 15” 30.44 Orion
2025 Feb 19 06h 20m 11s +11° 43’ 38” 30.45 Orion
2025 Feb 20 06h 20m 02s +11° 45’ 03” 30.45 Orion
2025 Feb 21 06h 19m 54s +11° 46’ 28” 30.46 Orion

Additional Resources