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Sunrise: 4:59 
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Comets » 

Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 5:20 | Tran: 13:09 | Set: 20:58
Alt: 36.87°   Az: 104.14°   Direction: East-South-East

Comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of 733,293,761.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 07h 35m 53s and the Declination is +20° 20’ 54” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 16.55.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Gemini on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Gemini on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

C/2024 A1 (ATLAS)
RA: 07h 34m 23s
Dec: +20° 24’ 20”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

07h 35m 53s
+20° 20’ 54”
20h 16m 39s
03h 52m 33s

J2000

07h 34m 23s
+20° 24’ 20”

Additional Information

Gemini
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
16.55

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

The following table lists 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: 69.7°
Max altitude: 58.9°
Azimuth: 290.4°

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 733,293,761.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.9017660316 Astronomical Units. Light takes 40m 46.005s to travel from comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

733,293,761.0
4.9017660316
40m 46.005s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

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 tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) to Earth happened on Tuesday 28 January 2025 at a distance of 3.283091 Astronomical Units, or 491,143,397 kilometers:

Tuesday 28 January 2025
491,143,397
3.283091

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

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 January, 08 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 June 15, 2025
2,460,842.2197 JD
Next perihelion transit October 6, 10597
5,591,814.0786 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

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2024 A1 (ATLAS) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

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
Jul 06 2025 07h 29m 25s +19° 31’ 01” 16.54 Gemini
Jul 07 2025 07h 30m 17s +19° 37’ 54” 16.54 Gemini
Jul 08 2025 07h 31m 10s +19° 44’ 45” 16.54 Gemini
Jul 09 2025 07h 32m 02s +19° 51’ 34” 16.54 Gemini
Jul 10 2025 07h 32m 56s +19° 58’ 21” 16.54 Gemini
Jul 11 2025 07h 33m 49s +20° 05’ 06” 16.54 Gemini
Jul 12 2025 07h 34m 42s +20° 11’ 50” 16.55 Gemini
Jul 13 2025 07h 35m 35s +20° 18’ 33” 16.55 Gemini
Jul 14 2025 07h 36m 28s +20° 25’ 13” 16.55 Gemini
Jul 15 2025 07h 37m 21s +20° 31’ 53” 16.55 Gemini
Jul 16 2025 07h 38m 14s +20° 38’ 31” 16.55 Gemini
Jul 17 2025 07h 39m 07s +20° 45’ 07” 16.55 Gemini
Jul 18 2025 07h 40m 01s +20° 51’ 44” 16.55 Gemini
Jul 19 2025 07h 40m 54s +20° 58’ 18” 16.55 Gemini

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