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Comet

ATLAS

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C/2018 O1 (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Halley-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.56 AU to 54.19 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 147.2 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
19.352 AU
True anomaly
153.31°
Distance from Earth
19.5 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 — 19.352 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 19.5 AU from Earth today (2.7 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 37m 49s
Declination
+00° 15′ 48″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
19.49 AU
Elongation from the Sun
80.44° — well clear of the Sun

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
27.874 AU
Eccentricity
0.9441
Inclination
154.04°
Orbital period
147.2 years
Perihelion
1.558 AU
Aphelion
54.189 AU
Longitude of ascending node
87.62°
Argument of periapsis
162.5°
Epoch · J2000
2458333.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 216.6 LD
0.5566 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.185

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
331
Data arc
78 days
First observed
15 July 2018
Last observed
1 October 2018
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12.1
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 34
12.1

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2018 O1

Named

Sources