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Comet

ATLAS

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P/2023 M4 (ATLAS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.593 AU
True anomaly
148.17°
Distance from Earth
5.652 AU
As of
22 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth ATLAS — 6.593 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 5.652 AU from Earth today (47.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 52m 02s
Declination
+25° 14′ 47″
Constellation
Aries
Distance from Earth
5.65 AU
Elongation from the Sun
160.28° — near opposition — up most of the night

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
5.453 AU
Eccentricity
0.2794
Inclination
7.59°
Orbital period
12.74 years
Perihelion
3.93 AU
Aphelion
6.977 AU
Longitude of ascending node
296.3°
Argument of periapsis
320.7°
Epoch · J2000
2460163.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,136.2 LD
2.9196 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.903

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
1,091
Data arc
3.55 years
First observed
17 March 2021
Last observed
5 October 2024
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 October 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.5
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.5
6.5

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2023 M4

Named

Close approaches 6 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2169-06-22 04:42:00 Juptr 1.2862 AU 500.5 LD 7.2 km/s
2181-07-02 23:17:00 Jupiter 0.4991 AU 194.2 LD 4.8 km/s
2181-07-02 23:17:00 Juptr 0.4991 AU 194.2 LD 4.8 km/s
2193-03-12 19:32:00 Juptr 1.03 AU 400.8 LD 6.7 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources