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Comet Near-Earth

ATLAS

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C/2020 M3 (ATLAS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
15.964 AU
True anomaly
152.47°
Distance from Earth
16.903 AU
As of
11 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 — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth ATLAS — 15.964 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 16.903 AU from Earth today (2.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 23m 22s
Declination
+11° 34′ 26″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
16.91 AU
Elongation from the Sun
19.31° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
26.817 AU
Eccentricity
0.9527
Inclination
23.47°
Orbital period
138.9 years
Perihelion
1.268 AU
Aphelion
52.366 AU
Longitude of ascending node
71.25°
Argument of periapsis
328.45°
Epoch · J2000
2459179.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 127.4 LD
0.3274 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.46

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
2,344
Data arc
348 days
First observed
27 June 2020
Last observed
10 June 2021
Residual RMS
0.47 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
23 April 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 6
14.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 M3

Near-Earth Object Named

Sources