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Comet

ATLAS

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C/2019 Y4-B (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.25 AU to 2,127.58 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 34,703.1 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 13 November 2025.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
19.095 AU
True anomaly
166.85°
Distance from Earth
18.902 AU
As of
25 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 — 19.095 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 18.902 AU from Earth today (2.6 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 29m 23s
Declination
+10° 25′ 42″
Constellation
Canis Minor
Distance from Earth
18.9 AU
Elongation from the Sun
100° — 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
1,063.915 AU
Eccentricity
0.9998
Inclination
45.46°
Orbital period
34,703.1 years
Perihelion
0.253 AU
Aphelion
2,127.578 AU
Longitude of ascending node
120.63°
Argument of periapsis
177.38°
Epoch · J2000
2458956.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 245.9 LD
0.6317 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.442

Orbit quality

Observations used
1,062
Data arc
49 days
First observed
22 March 2020
Last observed
10 May 2020
Residual RMS
0.59 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
13 November 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 4.5
16

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2019 Y4-B

Named

Sources