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Comets » 

Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS)

Below the horizon.  Never rises today
Alt: -61.09°   Az: 221.18°   Direction: South-West

Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Volans, at a distance of 537,286,880.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 08h 29m 20s and the Declination is -65° 42’ 40” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) is 18.16 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) in Volans on February, 11 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) in Volans on February, 11 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 X2 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2024 X2 (ATLAS)
RA: 08h 29m 02s
Dec: -65° 37’ 35”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

08h 29m 20s
-65° 42’ 40”
08h 37m 13s
17h 06m 33s

J2000

08h 29m 02s
-65° 37’ 35”

Additional Information

Volans
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.16

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 X2 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) is not visible from Greenwich, UK

  • C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2024 X2 (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 X2 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 537,286,880.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.5915409590 Astronomical Units. Light takes 29m 52.196s to travel from Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

537,286,880.0
3.5915409590
29m 52.196s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2024 X2 (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 X2 (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 X2 (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 X2 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Mon Jan 19 2026 at a distance of 3.080437 Astronomical Units, or 460,826,792 kilometers:

Mon Jan 19 2026
460,826,792
3.080437

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 X2 (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 X2 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) at epoch 15 December 2024 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460660.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.90581934
Orbit inclination i 109.13924159°
Perihelion distance q 3.67757662 AU
550,157,632 km
Aphelion distance Q 74.41864335 AU
11,132,870,609 km
Semi-major axis a 39.04810999 AU
5,841,514,120 km
Orbital period period 244.0103 years
89,124.7765 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2025-Jul-05 00:33:44
2,460,861.5234 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 315.31012323157°
Longitude of the ascending node node 122.83996532447°
Mean anomaly M 359.18800991292°
Mean motion n 0.00403928°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2024 X2 (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 04 08h 49m 58s -67° 22’ 32” 18.22 Volans
2025 Feb 05 08h 47m 01s -67° 10’ 35” 18.21 Volans
2025 Feb 06 08h 44m 05s -66° 58’ 07” 18.21 Volans
2025 Feb 07 08h 41m 13s -66° 45’ 05” 18.20 Volans
2025 Feb 08 08h 38m 23s -66° 31’ 31” 18.19 Volans
2025 Feb 09 08h 35m 36s -66° 17’ 24” 18.18 Volans
2025 Feb 10 08h 32m 51s -66° 02’ 47” 18.17 Volans
2025 Feb 11 08h 30m 10s -65° 47’ 37” 18.16 Volans
2025 Feb 12 08h 27m 33s -65° 31’ 56” 18.15 Volans
2025 Feb 13 08h 24m 58s -65° 15’ 46” 18.15 Volans
2025 Feb 14 08h 22m 27s -64° 59’ 04” 18.14 Volans
2025 Feb 15 08h 19m 59s -64° 41’ 53” 18.13 Volans
2025 Feb 16 08h 17m 35s -64° 24’ 12” 18.12 Carina
2025 Feb 17 08h 15m 14s -64° 06’ 03” 18.11 Carina

Additional Resources