Home
Search Objects
Major Solar System Objects
Comets
Asteroids
Spacecrafts
Star Maps
Orbits
public  Milan MI (IT) Milan MI (IT)  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/Rome
Sunrise: 5:47 
Transit: 13:28 
Sunset: 21:09
Search  close
Comets » 

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 6:01 | Tran: 12:54 | Set: 19:48
Alt: 25.60°   Az: 96.95°   Direction: East

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of 1,740,266,722.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 06h 53m 55s and the Declination is +13° 22’ 39” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 31.44.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Gemini on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Gemini 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 K1 (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 K1 (ATLAS)
RA: 06h 52m 29s
Dec: +13° 24’ 37”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

06h 53m 55s
+13° 22’ 39”
19h 32m 11s
02h 26m 06s

J2000

06h 52m 29s
+13° 24’ 37”

Additional Information

Gemini
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
31.44

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 K1 (ATLAS) from Milan MI (IT) (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/Rome):

Azimuth: 76.6°
Max altitude: 57.9°
Azimuth: 283.4°

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 1,740,266,722.0 kilometers, equivalent to 11.6329645192 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 36m 44.905s to travel from comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

1,740,266,722.0
11.6329645192
1h 36m 44.905s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2021 K1 (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 K1 (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 K1 (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 K1 (ATLAS) to Earth will happen on Saturday 15 August 2065 at a distance of 1.477420 Astronomical Units, or 221,018,939 kilometers:

Saturday 15 August 2065
221,018,939
1.477420

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 K1 (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 K1 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) at epoch August, 18 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 May 4, 2021
2,459,339.0768 JD
Next perihelion transit November 1, 2066
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

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2021 K1 (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 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
Jul 05 2025 06h 50m 57s +13° 25’ 34” 31.41 Gemini
Jul 06 2025 06h 51m 22s +13° 25’ 13” 31.41 Gemini
Jul 07 2025 06h 51m 47s +13° 24’ 51” 31.42 Gemini
Jul 08 2025 06h 52m 11s +13° 24’ 28” 31.42 Gemini
Jul 09 2025 06h 52m 36s +13° 24’ 04” 31.43 Gemini
Jul 10 2025 06h 53m 00s +13° 23’ 39” 31.43 Gemini
Jul 11 2025 06h 53m 25s +13° 23’ 13” 31.44 Gemini
Jul 12 2025 06h 53m 49s +13° 22’ 47” 31.44 Gemini
Jul 13 2025 06h 54m 13s +13° 22’ 20” 31.44 Gemini
Jul 14 2025 06h 54m 38s +13° 21’ 51” 31.45 Gemini
Jul 15 2025 06h 55m 02s +13° 21’ 22” 31.45 Gemini
Jul 16 2025 06h 55m 26s +13° 20’ 51” 31.45 Gemini
Jul 17 2025 06h 55m 50s +13° 20’ 20” 31.46 Gemini
Jul 18 2025 06h 56m 14s +13° 19’ 48” 31.46 Gemini

Additional Resources on TheSkyLive