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Comets » 

Comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 9:14 | Tran: 15:31 | Set: 21:49
Alt: -34.40°   Az: 352.99°   Direction: North

Comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Hydra, at a distance of 716,176,744.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 09h 34m 35s and the Declination is +03° 53’ 58” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 25.83).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Hydra on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) in the constellation of Hydra 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 P/2017 S5 (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.

P/2017 S5 (ATLAS)
RA: 09h 33m 16s
Dec: +04° 00’ 49”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

09h 34m 35s
+03° 53’ 58”
11h 36m 49s
21h 11m 25s

J2000

09h 33m 16s
+04° 00’ 49”

Additional Information

Hydra
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
25.83

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 P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 86.1°
Max altitude: 42.4°
Azimuth: 273.9°

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 P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 716,176,744.0 kilometers, equivalent to 4.7873458402 Astronomical Units. Light takes 39m 48.908s to travel from comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

716,176,744.0
4.7873458402
39m 48.908s

The following graph shows the distance of comet P/2017 S5 (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 P/2017 S5 (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 P/2017 S5 (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 P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) to Earth will happen on Friday 15 September 2045 at a distance of 1.194405 Astronomical Units, or 178,680,418 kilometers:

Friday 15 September 2045
178,680,418
1.194405

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 P/2017 S5 (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 P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS) at epoch November, 22 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458080.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.31304498
Orbit inclination i 11.84937248°
Perihelion distance q 2.17822414 AU
325,857,693 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.16345496 AU
622,843,997 km
Semi-major axis a 3.17083955 AU
474,350,845 km
Orbital period period 5.6464 years
2,062.3379 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp July 28, 2017
2,457,962.5239 JD
Next perihelion transit March 21, 2023
2,460,024.8618 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 99.944336594401°
Longitude of the ascending node node 252.39100053319°
Mean anomaly M 20.593813851164°
Mean motion n 0.17455917°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet P/2017 S5 (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 P/2017 S5 (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
Jun 30 2025 09h 28m 01s +04° 19’ 23” 25.78 Hydra
Jul 01 2025 09h 28m 56s +04° 15’ 59” 25.79 Hydra
Jul 02 2025 09h 29m 52s +04° 12’ 30” 25.80 Hydra
Jul 03 2025 09h 30m 46s +04° 08’ 58” 25.80 Hydra
Jul 04 2025 09h 31m 42s +04° 05’ 23” 25.81 Hydra
Jul 05 2025 09h 32m 38s +04° 01’ 45” 25.82 Hydra
Jul 06 2025 09h 33m 34s +03° 58’ 03” 25.82 Hydra
Jul 07 2025 09h 34m 30s +03° 54’ 18” 25.83 Hydra
Jul 08 2025 09h 35m 27s +03° 50’ 30” 25.84 Hydra
Jul 09 2025 09h 36m 24s +03° 46’ 39” 25.84 Hydra
Jul 10 2025 09h 37m 21s +03° 42’ 43” 25.85 Hydra
Jul 11 2025 09h 38m 18s +03° 38’ 45” 25.86 Hydra
Jul 12 2025 09h 39m 15s +03° 34’ 44” 25.86 Hydra
Jul 13 2025 09h 40m 13s +03° 30’ 40” 25.87 Hydra

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