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Comet

ATLAS

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C/2018 E1 (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.71 AU to 106.27 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 402.2 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
20.004 AU
True anomaly
140.78°
Distance from Earth
20.365 AU
As of
24 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth ATLAS — 20.004 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 20.365 AU from Earth today (2.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 49m 31s
Declination
+50° 53′ 17″
Constellation
Hercules
Distance from Earth
20.37 AU
Elongation from the Sun
67.47° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
54.486 AU
Eccentricity
0.9503
Inclination
72.48°
Orbital period
402.2 years
Perihelion
2.705 AU
Aphelion
106.268 AU
Longitude of ascending node
146.84°
Argument of periapsis
299.47°
Epoch · J2000
2458222.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 811.2 LD
2.0844 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.702

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
227
Data arc
3.7 years
First observed
11 August 2015
Last observed
23 April 2019
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8.8
11.4

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2018 E1

Named

Sources