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Solar
Comet Near-Earth

ATLAS

C/2020 M3 (ATLAS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
15.848 AU
True anomaly
152.33°
As of
17 September 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.

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 17m 47s
Declination
+12° 14′ 01″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
16.75 AU
Elongation from the Sun
25.54° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it's up after dark, and when it rises and sets where you are.

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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
26.817 AU
Eccentricity
0.9527
Inclination
23.47°
Orbital period
138.9 years
Perihelion
1.268 AU
Aphelion
52.366 AU
Longitude of ascending node
71.25°
Argument of periapsis
328.45°
Epoch · J2000
2459179.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 127.4 LD
0.3274 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.46

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
2,344
Data arc
348 days
First observed
27 June 2020
Last observed
10 June 2021
Residual RMS
0.47 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
23 April 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 6
14.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 M3

Near-Earth Object Named

Sources