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TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 4:45 
Transit: 13:02 
Sunset: 21:19
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Comets » 

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 6:20 | Tran: 13:27 | Set: 20:35
Alt: 21.87°   Az: 95.82°   Direction: South

Comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of 1,729,505,249.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 06h 47m 23s and the Declination is +13° 27’ 55” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 31.37).

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 45m 56s
Dec: +13° 29’ 38”
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 47m 23s
+13° 27’ 55”
19h 13m 15s
02h 00m 38s

J2000

06h 45m 56s
+13° 29’ 38”

Additional Information

Gemini
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
31.37

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

Azimuth: 76.5°
Max altitude: 52.0°
Azimuth: 283.5°

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 1,729,505,249.0 kilometers, equivalent to 11.5610285154 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 36m 9.009s to travel from comet C/2021 K1 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

1,729,505,249.0
11.5610285154
1h 36m 9.009s

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
Jun 19 2025 06h 44m 22s +13° 28’ 55” 31.33 Gemini
Jun 20 2025 06h 44m 46s +13° 28’ 50” 31.34 Gemini
Jun 21 2025 06h 45m 11s +13° 28’ 44” 31.34 Gemini
Jun 22 2025 06h 45m 36s +13° 28’ 38” 31.35 Gemini
Jun 23 2025 06h 46m 00s +13° 28’ 30” 31.35 Gemini
Jun 24 2025 06h 46m 25s +13° 28’ 21” 31.36 Gemini
Jun 25 2025 06h 46m 50s +13° 28’ 11” 31.36 Gemini
Jun 26 2025 06h 47m 15s +13° 27’ 59” 31.37 Gemini
Jun 27 2025 06h 47m 39s +13° 27’ 47” 31.37 Gemini
Jun 28 2025 06h 48m 04s +13° 27’ 34” 31.38 Gemini
Jun 29 2025 06h 48m 29s +13° 27’ 20” 31.38 Gemini
Jun 30 2025 06h 48m 54s +13° 27’ 04” 31.39 Gemini
Jul 01 2025 06h 49m 19s +13° 26’ 48” 31.39 Gemini
Jul 02 2025 06h 49m 43s +13° 26’ 32” 31.40 Gemini

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