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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:01  ☀️ Transit: 12:06  🌅 Sunset: 18:11

Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS)

Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Delphinus. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) is 20h 26m 15s and the Declination is +03° 28’ 08” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) is 17.79 (JPL).

20h 26m 15s
+03° 28’ 08”
Delphinus
17.79

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 86.5°
Max altitude: 42.0°
Azimuth: 273.6°
  • C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 14° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2022 Q2 (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/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet C/2022 Q2 (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.

Map showing Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) in Delphinus on March, 21 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) in Delphinus on March, 21 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS)
RA: 20h 26m 15s
Dec: +03° 28’ 08”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 323,347,387 kilometers, equivalent to 2.161444 Astronomical Units. Light takes 17 minutes and 58.5708 seconds to travel from Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

323,347,387
2.161444
17 minutes and 58.5708 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2022 Q2 (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/2022 Q2 (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/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Wed Oct 12 2022 at a distance of 1.223669 Astronomical Units, or 183,058,297 kilometers:

Wed Oct 12 2022
183,058,297
1.223669

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

Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) is 17.79.

17.79
-
-

The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2022 Q2 (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/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) at epoch 09 October 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459862.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.94981566
Orbit inclination i 151.48634415°
Perihelion distance q 1.64402859 AU
245,943,177 km
Aphelion distance Q 63.87556082 AU
9,555,647,907 km
Semi-major axis a 32.75979470 AU
4,900,795,542 km
Orbital period period 187.5081 years
68,487.3219 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Jan-31 14:18:09
2,459,976.0959 JD
Next perihelion transit 2210-Aug-06 22:01
2,528,463.4178 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 44.067740788231°
Longitude of the ascending node node 352.94368359339°
Mean anomaly M 359.40288892547°
Mean motion n 0.00525645°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2022 Q2 (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/2022 Q2 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2022 Q2 (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/2022 Q2 (ATLAS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 14 20h 31m 27s +01° 46’ 18” 17.82 Aquila
2023 Mar 15 20h 30m 48s +01° 59’ 54” 17.82 Aquila
2023 Mar 16 20h 30m 09s +02° 13’ 41” 17.81 Aquila
2023 Mar 17 20h 29m 26s +02° 27’ 42” 17.81 Delphinus
2023 Mar 18 20h 28m 44s +02° 41’ 54” 17.80 Delphinus
2023 Mar 19 20h 27m 59s +02° 56’ 21” 17.80 Delphinus
2023 Mar 20 20h 27m 11s +03° 10’ 59” 17.79 Delphinus
2023 Mar 21 20h 26m 22s +03° 25’ 53” 17.79 Delphinus
2023 Mar 22 20h 25m 32s +03° 40’ 59” 17.78 Delphinus
2023 Mar 23 20h 24m 38s +03° 56’ 21” 17.77 Delphinus
2023 Mar 24 20h 23m 43s +04° 11’ 56” 17.77 Aquila
2023 Mar 25 20h 22m 45s +04° 27’ 47” 17.76 Aquila
2023 Mar 26 20h 21m 46s +04° 43’ 53” 17.76 Aquila
2023 Mar 27 20h 20m 43s +05° 00’ 14” 17.75 Aquila