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Comet

ATLAS

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C/2023 K1 (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.04 AU to 1,444.53 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 19,452.3 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 13 April 2024.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
10.351 AU
True anomaly
127.46°
Distance from Earth
10.288 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 — 10.351 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 10.288 AU from Earth today (1.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 17m 34s
Declination
+58° 48′ 02″
Constellation
Ursa Major
Distance from Earth
10.29 AU
Elongation from the Sun
91.02° — 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
723.284 AU
Eccentricity
0.9972
Inclination
138°
Orbital period
19,452.3 years
Perihelion
2.04 AU
Aphelion
1,444.529 AU
Longitude of ascending node
223.71°
Argument of periapsis
337.47°
Epoch · J2000
2460148.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 414.4 LD
1.0648 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.308

Orbit quality

Observations used
218
Data arc
297 days
First observed
27 May 2023
Last observed
19 March 2024
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
13 April 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.2
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 27.5
6.2

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2023 K1

Named

Sources