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Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 9:25 | Tran: 14:07 | Set: 18:49
Alt: -51.57°   Az: 21.88°   Direction: North-North-East

Comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Puppis, at a distance of 657,812,287.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 08h 21m 54s and the Declination is -14° 41’ 45” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 18.37.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Puppis on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Puppis 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 X2 (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 X2 (ATLAS)
RA: 08h 20m 43s
Dec: -14° 36’ 49”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

08h 21m 54s
-14° 41’ 45”
12h 55m 25s
21h 17m 20s

J2000

08h 20m 43s
-14° 36’ 49”

Additional Information

Puppis
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.37

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

Azimuth: 104.7°
Max altitude: 23.9°
Azimuth: 255.4°

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 X2 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 657,812,287.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.3972035426 Astronomical Units. Light takes 36m 34.226s to travel from comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

657,812,287.0
4.3972035426
36m 34.226s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2024 X2 (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 X2 (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 X2 (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 X2 (ATLAS) to Earth will happen on Monday 19 January 2026 at a distance of 3.080437 Astronomical Units, or 460,826,792 kilometers:

Monday 19 January 2026
460,826,792
3.080437

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 X2 (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 X2 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) at epoch December, 15 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 July 5, 2025
2,460,861.5234 JD
Next perihelion transit July 10, 2269
2,549,986.2999 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

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2024 X2 (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 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
Jul 03 2025 08h 16m 10s -15° 49’ 19” 18.34 Puppis
Jul 04 2025 08h 16m 58s -15° 39’ 17” 18.35 Puppis
Jul 05 2025 08h 17m 46s -15° 29’ 26” 18.35 Puppis
Jul 06 2025 08h 18m 35s -15° 19’ 44” 18.36 Puppis
Jul 07 2025 08h 19m 23s -15° 10’ 12” 18.36 Puppis
Jul 08 2025 08h 20m 13s -15° 00’ 49” 18.36 Puppis
Jul 09 2025 08h 21m 01s -14° 51’ 36” 18.37 Puppis
Jul 10 2025 08h 21m 50s -14° 42’ 31” 18.37 Puppis
Jul 11 2025 08h 22m 38s -14° 33’ 36” 18.38 Puppis
Jul 12 2025 08h 23m 26s -14° 24’ 49” 18.38 Puppis
Jul 13 2025 08h 24m 15s -14° 16’ 12” 18.38 Puppis
Jul 14 2025 08h 25m 03s -14° 07’ 43” 18.39 Puppis
Jul 15 2025 08h 25m 51s -13° 59’ 23” 18.39 Puppis
Jul 16 2025 08h 26m 40s -13° 51’ 11” 18.39 Puppis

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