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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 5:57  ☀️ Transit: 12:05  🌅 Sunset: 18:14

Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS)

Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Coma. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is 12h 46m 27s and the Declination is +24° 46’ 22” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is 17.89 (JPL).

12h 46m 27s
+24° 46’ 22”
Coma
17.89

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 65.2°
Max altitude: 62.8°
Azimuth: 294.5°
  • C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the North-East direction at an altitude of 3° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2023 E1 (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/2023 E1 (ATLAS) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet C/2023 E1 (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/2023 E1 (ATLAS) in Coma on March, 23 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) in Coma on March, 23 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/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2023 E1 (ATLAS)
RA: 12h 46m 27s
Dec: +24° 46’ 22”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 134,324,627 kilometers, equivalent to 0.897905 Astronomical Units. Light takes 7 minutes and 28.0587 seconds to travel from Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

134,324,627
0.897905
7 minutes and 28.0587 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 E1 (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 E1 (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 E1 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) to Earth

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Fri Aug 18 2023 at a distance of 0.374487 Astronomical Units, or 56,022,488 kilometers:

Fri Aug 18 2023
56,022,488
0.374487

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

Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is 17.89.

17.89
-
-

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/2023 E1 (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 E1 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) at epoch 01 March 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460005.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.94693891
Orbit inclination i 38.31445216°
Perihelion distance q 1.02660718 AU
153,578,248 km
Aphelion distance Q 37.66868431 AU
5,635,154,976 km
Semi-major axis a 19.34764574 AU
2,894,366,612 km
Orbital period period 85.1041 years
31,084.2660 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Jul-01 02:35:25
2,460,126.6079 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 105.89370862609°
Longitude of the ascending node node 164.57526493741°
Mean anomaly M 358.59739790695°
Mean motion n 0.01158142°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2023 E1 (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/2023 E1 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 E1 (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/2023 E1 (ATLAS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 16 12h 49m 18s +19° 01’ 15” 18.22 Coma
2023 Mar 17 12h 49m 03s +19° 43’ 50” 18.18 Coma
2023 Mar 18 12h 48m 43s +20° 27’ 06” 18.13 Coma
2023 Mar 19 12h 48m 24s +21° 11’ 08” 18.09 Coma
2023 Mar 20 12h 48m 02s +21° 55’ 49” 18.05 Coma
2023 Mar 21 12h 47m 39s +22° 41’ 09” 18.00 Coma
2023 Mar 22 12h 47m 13s +23° 27’ 09” 17.96 Coma
2023 Mar 23 12h 46m 46s +24° 13’ 42” 17.92 Coma
2023 Mar 24 12h 46m 18s +25° 00’ 50” 17.88 Coma
2023 Mar 25 12h 45m 48s +25° 48’ 27” 17.84 Coma
2023 Mar 26 12h 45m 16s +26° 36’ 33” 17.79 Coma
2023 Mar 27 12h 44m 44s +27° 25’ 05” 17.75 Coma
2023 Mar 28 12h 44m 08s +28° 13’ 59” 17.72 Coma
2023 Mar 29 12h 43m 32s +29° 03’ 15” 17.68 Coma