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Comets » 

Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS)

Below the horizon.  Never rises today
Alt: -55.15°   Az: 104.48°   Direction: East-South-East

Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Centaurus, at a distance of 945,733,251.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 12h 46m 15s and the Declination is -46° 58’ 36” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) is 18.68 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder chart of C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) in Centaurus on November,04 2024
Map showing Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) in Centaurus on November, 04 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

12h 46m 15s
-46° 58’ 36”
15h 36m 43s
04h 22m 58s

J2000

12h 44m 52s
-46° 50’ 28”

Additional Information

Centaurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.68

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 G2 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) is not visible from Greenwich, UK

  • C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2024 G2 (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.

Finder Charts

Finder chart of C/2024 G2 (ATLAS)
Sky map showing Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) in Centaurus on November, 04 2024. Field of view: 10x6 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2024 G2 (ATLAS)
RA: 12h 44m 52s
Dec: -46° 50’ 28”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 945,733,251.0 kilometers, equivalent to 6.3218363107 Astronomical Units. Light takes 52m 34.627s to travel from Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

945,733,251.0
6.3218363107
52m 34.627s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2024 G2 (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 G2 (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 G2 (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 G2 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Thu Apr 10 2025 at a distance of 4.547339 Astronomical Units, or 680,272,256 kilometers:

Thu Apr 10 2025
680,272,256
4.547339

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 G2 (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 G2 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) at epoch 10 April 2024 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460411.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99684595
Orbit inclination i 122.13245579°
Perihelion distance q 5.34111984 AU
799,020,157 km
Aphelion distance Q 3,381.48845396 AU
505,863,473,524 km
Semi-major axis a 1,693.41478690 AU
253,331,246,840 km
Orbital period period 69,687.2335 years
25,453,262.0326 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2025-Jun-14 02:27:54
2,460,840.6027 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 328.88286180096°
Longitude of the ascending node node 171.39409291219°
Mean anomaly M 359.99393095563°
Mean motion n 0.00001414°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2024 G2 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2024 G2 (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
2024 Oct 28 12h 42m 09s -46° 57’ 54” 18.70 Centaurus
2024 Oct 29 12h 42m 44s -46° 57’ 47” 18.70 Centaurus
2024 Oct 30 12h 43m 21s -46° 57’ 45” 18.69 Centaurus
2024 Oct 31 12h 43m 56s -46° 57’ 47” 18.69 Centaurus
2024 Nov 01 12h 44m 31s -46° 57’ 54” 18.69 Centaurus
2024 Nov 02 12h 45m 05s -46° 58’ 03” 18.68 Centaurus
2024 Nov 03 12h 45m 39s -46° 58’ 17” 18.68 Centaurus
2024 Nov 04 12h 46m 13s -46° 58’ 35” 18.68 Centaurus
2024 Nov 05 12h 46m 46s -46° 58’ 57” 18.67 Centaurus
2024 Nov 06 12h 47m 19s -46° 59’ 21” 18.67 Centaurus
2024 Nov 07 12h 47m 51s -46° 59’ 50” 18.67 Centaurus
2024 Nov 08 12h 48m 23s -47° 00’ 22” 18.66 Centaurus
2024 Nov 09 12h 48m 55s -47° 00’ 58” 18.66 Centaurus
2024 Nov 10 12h 49m 26s -47° 01’ 37” 18.66 Centaurus

Additional Resources