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Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 20:06 | Tran: 4:50 | Set: 13:28
Alt: 7.91°   Az: 304.65°   Direction: North-West

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is in the constellation of Vulpecula, at a distance of 518,080,311.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 19h 54m 09s and the Declination is +27° 17’ 01” (apparent coordinates). The latest observed magnitude of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is 15.5 (data provided by COBS).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in Vulpecula on May, 23 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in Vulpecula on May, 23 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
RA: 19h 53m 06s
Dec: +27° 12’ 59”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

19h 54m 09s
+27° 17’ 01”
07h 34m 09s
03h 28m 18s

J2000

19h 53m 06s
+27° 12’ 59”

Additional Information

Vulpecula
15.5
0.6'
n/a
2025-05-22
14.39

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/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 62.7°
Max altitude: 65.8°
Azimuth: 297.3°
  • C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the North-West direction at an altitude of 7.91° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-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/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from Earth is currently 518,080,311.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.4631529752 Astronomical Units. Light takes 28m 48.130s to travel from Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) and arrive to us.

518,080,311.0
3.4631529752
28m 48.130s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-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/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-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/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-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/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) to Earth happens on Sun Oct 13 2024 at a distance of 0.472744 Astronomical Units, or 70,721,499 kilometers:

Sun Oct 13 2024
70,721,499
0.472744

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/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-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/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) at epoch 24 January 2024 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460334.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00012475
Orbit inclination i 139.11502467°
Perihelion distance q 0.39145906 AU
58,561,442 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2024-Sep-27 17:38:45
2,460,581.2353 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 308.4872848828°
Longitude of the ascending node node 21.558609111275°
Mean anomaly M -0.0013834563352416°
Mean motion n 0.00000561°/day
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
View Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-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 May 16 20h 02m 27s +26° 19’ 03” 14.34 Vulpecula
2025 May 17 20h 01m 24s +26° 27’ 20” 14.35 Vulpecula
2025 May 18 20h 00m 21s +26° 35’ 28” 14.36 Vulpecula
2025 May 19 19h 59m 15s +26° 43’ 26” 14.36 Vulpecula
2025 May 20 19h 58m 09s +26° 51’ 14” 14.37 Vulpecula
2025 May 21 19h 57m 01s +26° 58’ 53” 14.37 Vulpecula
2025 May 22 19h 55m 52s +27° 06’ 21” 14.38 Vulpecula
2025 May 23 19h 54m 42s +27° 13’ 38” 14.39 Vulpecula
2025 May 24 19h 53m 31s +27° 20’ 43” 14.39 Vulpecula
2025 May 25 19h 52m 19s +27° 27’ 38” 14.40 Vulpecula
2025 May 26 19h 51m 05s +27° 34’ 21” 14.40 Vulpecula
2025 May 27 19h 49m 51s +27° 40’ 51” 14.41 Vulpecula
2025 May 28 19h 48m 35s +27° 47’ 09” 14.42 Vulpecula
2025 May 29 19h 47m 17s +27° 53’ 13” 14.42 Vulpecula

Additional Resources on TheSkyLive