Skip to content
Public Universe
Comet

ATLAS

Add to an observing list or journal →

C/2020 A3 (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 5.77 AU to 10,504.68 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 380,973.9 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 14 January 2023.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
17.25 AU
True anomaly
109.4°
Distance from Earth
16.998 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 — 17.25 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 16.998 AU from Earth today (2.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 28m 46s
Declination
+31° 48′ 25″
Constellation
Gemini
Distance from Earth
16.99 AU
Elongation from the Sun
103.69° — 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
5,255.225 AU
Eccentricity
0.9989
Inclination
146.7°
Orbital period
380,973.9 years
Perihelion
5.767 AU
Aphelion
10,504.684 AU
Longitude of ascending node
120.79°
Argument of periapsis
268.41°
Epoch · J2000
2458781.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 1,928.7 LD
4.9559 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-2.487

Orbit quality

Observations used
94
Data arc
3.75 years
First observed
16 May 2017
Last observed
12 February 2021
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 January 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.3
6.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 A3

Named

Sources