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Comets » 

Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 2:52 | Tran: 10:07 | Set: 17:23
Alt: 23.20°   Az: 95.21°   Direction: East

Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Pisces, at a distance of 977,938,795.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 01h 12m 35s and the Declination is +14° 50’ 36” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) is 18.51 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) in Pisces on May, 23 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) in Pisces on May, 23 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

P/2023 M4 (ATLAS)
RA: 01h 11m 14s
Dec: +14° 42’ 32”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

01h 12m 35s
+14° 50’ 36”
19h 14m 59s
20h 27m 35s

J2000

01h 11m 14s
+14° 42’ 32”

Additional Information

Pisces
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
18.51

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 P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 75.2°
Max altitude: 53.4°
Azimuth: 284.9°
  • P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 23.20° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, P/2023 M4 (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 P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 977,938,795.0 kilometers, equivalent to 6.5371170754 Astronomical Units. Light takes 54m 22.053s to travel from Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

977,938,795.0
6.5371170754
54m 22.053s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet P/2023 M4 (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 P/2023 M4 (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 P/2023 M4 (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 P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Tue Jun 13 2084 at a distance of 2.807898 Astronomical Units, or 420,055,594 kilometers:

Tue Jun 13 2084
420,055,594
2.807898

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 P/2023 M4 (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 P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) at epoch 29 June 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460125.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.27943237
Orbit inclination i 7.59250548°
Perihelion distance q 3.92941954 AU
587,832,798 km
Aphelion distance Q 6.97703634 AU
1,043,749,783 km
Semi-major axis a 5.45322794 AU
815,791,290 km
Orbital period period 12.7347 years
4,651.3488 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Apr-15 02:08:21
2,459,684.5891 JD
Next perihelion transit 2035-Jan-08 10:30
2,464,335.9379 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 320.68668189847°
Longitude of the ascending node node 296.2958245651°
Mean anomaly M 34.12513635763°
Mean motion n 0.07739691°/day
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS)
View Comet P/2023 M4 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet P/2023 M4 (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 May 16 01h 07m 54s +14° 17’ 20” 18.53 Pisces
2025 May 17 01h 08m 34s +14° 22’ 00” 18.53 Pisces
2025 May 18 01h 09m 14s +14° 26’ 41” 18.52 Pisces
2025 May 19 01h 09m 53s +14° 31’ 19” 18.52 Pisces
2025 May 20 01h 10m 32s +14° 35’ 58” 18.52 Pisces
2025 May 21 01h 11m 11s +14° 40’ 35” 18.52 Pisces
2025 May 22 01h 11m 50s +14° 45’ 11” 18.52 Pisces
2025 May 23 01h 12m 28s +14° 49’ 46” 18.51 Pisces
2025 May 24 01h 13m 06s +14° 54’ 19” 18.51 Pisces
2025 May 25 01h 13m 44s +14° 58’ 52” 18.51 Pisces
2025 May 26 01h 14m 23s +15° 03’ 22” 18.51 Pisces
2025 May 27 01h 15m 00s +15° 07’ 53” 18.51 Pisces
2025 May 28 01h 15m 37s +15° 12’ 21” 18.50 Pisces
2025 May 29 01h 16m 14s +15° 16’ 48” 18.50 Pisces

Additional Resources on TheSkyLive