Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)
Available Resources
Position (see also Where is Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)?)
Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)?)
Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) orbital parameters.
Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) for the past and next 7 days.
Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) in the sky from your location.
Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.
Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) Position
Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Cassiopeia. The current Right Ascension is 00h 26m 39s and the Declination is +53° 25’ 49”.
Right Ascension00h 26m 39s
Declination+53° 25’ 49”
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Map showing Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) in Cassiopeia on April, 06 2020
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
View fullscreen
= visible to the naked eye
= visible to the naked eye = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30° 
= current altitude < 30° 
= below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) is right now (view fullscreen)
RA: 00h 26m 39s
Dec: +53° 25’ 49”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen
Also check out Where is Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) Distance
The distance of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 188,175,143 kilometers, equivalent to 1.257873 Astronomical Units. Light takes 10 minutes and 27.6847 seconds to travel from Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.
Distance Kilometers188,175,143
Distance AU1.257873
Light Travel Time10 minutes and 27.6847 seconds
The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Distance from Earth (AU)
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Jan 2020
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Distance of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) from Earth between January 2013 and December 2100
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Sun May 3 2020 at a distance of 1.10562857 Astronomical Units, or 165,399,680 kilometers:
DateSun May 3 2020
Distance Kilometers165,399,680
Distance AU1.105629
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) is 12.27.
Estimated Magnitude (JPL)12.27
Observed Magnitude (COBS)8.4
Coma Diameter (COBS)3.5'
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Magnitude
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Predicted magnitude of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) between January 2013 and December 2100
Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) is circumpolar and transits at 11:25 UTC (altitude: 88.0°)
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) at epoch 26 January 2020 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458875.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
ElementSymbolValue
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99637478
Orbit inclination i 73.34701817°
Perihelion distance q 0.83778577 AU
125,330,968 km
Aphelion distance Q 461.36024410 AU
69,018,510,281 km
Semi-major axis a 231.09901494 AU
34,571,920,625 km
Orbital period period 3,513.2200 years
1,283,203.5969 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2020-Mar-15 13:32:02
2,458,924.0639 JD
Next perihelion transit 5533-Jul-01 03:51
3,742,127.6609 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 57.500469896304°
Longitude of the ascending node node 31.367353809272°
Mean anomaly M 359.98637549692°
Mean motion n 0.00028055°/day
Visualization of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)
Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
DateRight AscensionDeclinationMagnitudeConstellation
2020 Mar 30 00h 16m 01s +44° 41’ 49” 11.82 Andromeda
2020 Mar 31 00h 17m 07s +45° 45’ 11” 11.87 Andromeda
2020 Apr 01 00h 18m 15s +46° 49’ 14” 11.92 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 02 00h 19m 27s +47° 54’ 02” 11.97 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 03 00h 20m 44s +48° 59’ 35” 12.03 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 04 00h 22m 05s +50° 05’ 56” 12.08 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 05 00h 23m 31s +51° 13’ 03” 12.14 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 06 00h 25m 05s +52° 21’ 00” 12.20 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 07 00h 26m 44s +53° 29’ 45” 12.27 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 08 00h 28m 32s +54° 39’ 23” 12.34 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 09 00h 30m 26s +55° 49’ 50” 12.40 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 10 00h 32m 30s +57° 01’ 09” 12.47 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 11 00h 34m 45s +58° 13’ 18” 12.55 Cassiopeia
2020 Apr 12 00h 37m 13s +59° 26’ 21” 12.62 Cassiopeia
