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Comet

ATLAS

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C/2022 Q2 (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Halley-type comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.64 AU to 63.96 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 187.9 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 August 2023.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
11.491 AU
True anomaly
139.38°
Distance from Earth
12.254 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 — 11.491 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 12.254 AU from Earth today (1.7 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 31m 56s
Declination
+01° 21′ 08″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
12.25 AU
Elongation from the Sun
38.83° — 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 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
32.804 AU
Eccentricity
0.9499
Inclination
151.49°
Orbital period
187.9 years
Perihelion
1.644 AU
Aphelion
63.964 AU
Longitude of ascending node
352.94°
Argument of periapsis
44.06°
Epoch · J2000
2459885.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 282.6 LD
0.7261 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.221

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
591
Data arc
323 days
First observed
27 August 2022
Last observed
16 July 2023
Residual RMS
0.5 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 August 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
13.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 9.8
13.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2022 Q2

Named

Sources