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Comets » 

Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 15:36 | Tran: 20:43 | Set: 1:54
Alt: 27.60°   Az: 194.67°   Direction: South-South-West

Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Monoceros, at a distance of 504,501,784.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 06h 43m 42s and the Declination is -09° 52’ 17” (apparent coordinates). The latest observed magnitude of Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) is 15.6 (data provided by COBS).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) in Monoceros on February, 19 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) in Monoceros on February, 19 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2024 A1 (ATLAS)
RA: 06h 42m 31s
Dec: -09° 50’ 43”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

06h 43m 42s
-09° 52’ 17”
00h 52m 39s
07h 36m 22s

J2000

06h 42m 31s
-09° 50’ 43”

Additional Information

Monoceros
15.6
0.0'
n/a
2025-02-16
15.87

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/2024 A1 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 100.0°
Max altitude: 28.6°
Azimuth: 259.9°
  • C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 27.60° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2024 A1 (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/2024 A1 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 504,501,784.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.3723861285 Astronomical Units. Light takes 28m 2.837s to travel from Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

504,501,784.0
3.3723861285
28m 2.837s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2024 A1 (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/2024 A1 (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/2024 A1 (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/2024 A1 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Tue Jan 28 2025 at a distance of 3.283091 Astronomical Units, or 491,143,397 kilometers:

Tue Jan 28 2025
491,143,397
3.283091

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/2024 A1 (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/2024 A1 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) at epoch 08 January 2024 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460318.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99073796
Orbit inclination i 94.42733657°
Perihelion distance q 3.87936419 AU
580,344,623 km
Aphelion distance Q 833.81158002 AU
124,736,437,186 km
Semi-major axis a 418.84547210 AU
62,658,390,905 km
Orbital period period 8,572.1338 years
3,130,971.8590 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2025-Jun-15 17:16:18
2,460,842.2197 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 353.3907819592°
Longitude of the ascending node node 112.23057050643°
Mean anomaly M 359.93978257021°
Mean motion n 0.00011498°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2024 A1 (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 Feb 12 06h 49m 55s -12° 30’ 03” 15.85 Canis Majoris
2025 Feb 13 06h 49m 03s -12° 10’ 15” 15.86 Canis Majoris
2025 Feb 14 06h 48m 13s -11° 50’ 21” 15.86 Canis Majoris
2025 Feb 15 06h 47m 24s -11° 30’ 25” 15.86 Canis Majoris
2025 Feb 16 06h 46m 37s -11° 10’ 26” 15.86 Canis Majoris
2025 Feb 17 06h 45m 50s -10° 50’ 26” 15.86 Monoceros
2025 Feb 18 06h 45m 05s -10° 30’ 24” 15.86 Monoceros
2025 Feb 19 06h 44m 21s -10° 10’ 20” 15.87 Monoceros
2025 Feb 20 06h 43m 38s -09° 50’ 17” 15.87 Monoceros
2025 Feb 21 06h 42m 57s -09° 30’ 13” 15.87 Monoceros
2025 Feb 22 06h 42m 16s -09° 10’ 10” 15.87 Monoceros
2025 Feb 23 06h 41m 38s -08° 50’ 06” 15.88 Monoceros
2025 Feb 24 06h 41m 00s -08° 30’ 05” 15.88 Monoceros
2025 Feb 25 06h 40m 23s -08° 10’ 05” 15.88 Monoceros

Additional Resources