Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
This site is free and ad-free thanks to the support of our users. If you can, please consider a donation.
public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 6:47  
clear_day Transit: 12:50  
SunsetSet: 18:52 south
wb_twilight Astronomical TwilightWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS)

Altitude: 12.9°   Azimuth: 141.1°   Direction: South-East

Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Aquarius. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is 22h 19m 10s and the Declination is -17° 18’ 03” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is 17.21 (JPL) while the latest observed magnitude is 10.2 (COBS).

22h 19m 10s
-17° 18’ 03”
Aquarius
10.2
10.0'
n/a
2023-09-24
17.21

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.

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

Azimuth: 107.3°
Max altitude: 21.2°
Azimuth: 253.1°
  • C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 13° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is visible with the help of a binocular with a 80mm aperture or a small telescope.
  • 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.

Finder chart of C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) in Aquarius on September,24 2023
Map showing Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) in Aquarius on September, 24 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of C/2023 E1 (ATLAS)
Map showing Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) in Aquarius on September, 24 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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: 22h 19m 10s
Dec: -17° 18’ 03”
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 111,502,636 kilometers, equivalent to 0.745349 Astronomical Units. Light takes 6 minutes and 11.9328 seconds to travel from Comet C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

111,502,636
0.745349
6 minutes and 11.9328 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 and Light Curve

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
Next perihelion transit 2108-Aug-08 08:58
2,491,210.8740 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 Sep 17 22h 13m 23s -11° 51’ 38” 16.64 Aquarius
2023 Sep 18 22h 14m 08s -12° 41’ 14” 16.72 Aquarius
2023 Sep 19 22h 14m 52s -13° 28’ 21” 16.79 Aquarius
2023 Sep 20 22h 15m 36s -14° 13’ 04” 16.86 Aquarius
2023 Sep 21 22h 16m 21s -14° 55’ 28” 16.93 Aquarius
2023 Sep 22 22h 17m 04s -15° 35’ 43” 17.01 Aquarius
2023 Sep 23 22h 17m 49s -16° 13’ 50” 17.08 Aquarius
2023 Sep 24 22h 18m 33s -16° 49’ 59” 17.15 Aquarius
2023 Sep 25 22h 19m 18s -17° 24’ 15” 17.22 Aquarius
2023 Sep 26 22h 20m 04s -17° 56’ 42” 17.29 Aquarius
2023 Sep 27 22h 20m 49s -18° 27’ 24” 17.36 Aquarius
2023 Sep 28 22h 21m 35s -18° 56’ 29” 17.43 Aquarius
2023 Sep 29 22h 22m 22s -19° 23’ 58” 17.49 Aquarius
2023 Sep 30 22h 23m 08s -19° 49’ 59” 17.56 Aquarius