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Comets » 

Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 23:04 | Tran: 8:32 | Set: 17:56
Alt: 36.29°   Az: 82.70°   Direction: East

Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Pegasus, at a distance of 519,814,805.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 23h 17m 24s and the Declination is +31° 47’ 33” (apparent coordinates). The latest observed magnitude of Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) is 14.2 (data provided by COBS).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) in Pegasus on May, 18 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) in Pegasus on May, 18 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 C2 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2023 C2 (ATLAS)
RA: 23h 16m 10s
Dec: +31° 39’ 13”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

23h 17m 24s
+31° 47’ 33”
19h 19m 22s
18h 36m 47s

J2000

23h 16m 10s
+31° 39’ 13”

Additional Information

Pegasus
14.2
2.6'
1.7'
2025-05-11
16.02

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 C2 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 57.9°
Max altitude: 70.4°
Azimuth: 302.0°
  • C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 36.29° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 14 inches (350mm) or more.
  • 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 C2 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 519,814,805.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.4747473515 Astronomical Units. Light takes 28m 53.916s to travel from Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

519,814,805.0
3.4747473515
28m 53.916s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 C2 (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 C2 (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 C2 (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 C2 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Sun Jul 21 2024 at a distance of 2.072070 Astronomical Units, or 309,977,332 kilometers:

Sun Jul 21 2024
309,977,332
2.072070

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 C2 (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 C2 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) at epoch 10 December 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460289.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99926867
Orbit inclination i 48.31615928°
Perihelion distance q 2.36829581 AU
354,292,011 km
Aphelion distance Q 6,474.35433209 AU
968,549,624,180 km
Semi-major axis a 3,238.36131395 AU
484,451,958,096 km
Orbital period period 184,287.6179 years
67,311,052.4251 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2024-Nov-16 19:38:31
2,460,631.3184 JD
Next perihelion transit 186316-Apr-13 05:50
69,771,683.7435 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 357.45825829428°
Longitude of the ascending node node 301.01338475742°
Mean anomaly M 359.99817185102°
Mean motion n 0.00000535°/day
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 C2 (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 11 23h 10m 49s +29° 24’ 13” 15.99 Pegasus
2025 May 12 23h 11m 46s +29° 44’ 22” 16.00 Pegasus
2025 May 13 23h 12m 43s +30° 04’ 33” 16.00 Pegasus
2025 May 14 23h 13m 39s +30° 24’ 41” 16.01 Pegasus
2025 May 15 23h 14m 35s +30° 44’ 49” 16.01 Pegasus
2025 May 16 23h 15m 30s +31° 04’ 57” 16.01 Pegasus
2025 May 17 23h 16m 25s +31° 25’ 03” 16.02 Pegasus
2025 May 18 23h 17m 18s +31° 45’ 09” 16.02 Pegasus
2025 May 19 23h 18m 12s +32° 05’ 13” 16.03 Pegasus
2025 May 20 23h 19m 04s +32° 25’ 16” 16.03 Pegasus
2025 May 21 23h 19m 56s +32° 45’ 19” 16.03 Pegasus
2025 May 22 23h 20m 47s +33° 05’ 19” 16.04 Pegasus
2025 May 23 23h 21m 37s +33° 25’ 19” 16.04 Pegasus
2025 May 24 23h 22m 27s +33° 45’ 18” 16.05 Pegasus

Additional Resources on TheSkyLive