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Comet

ATLAS

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C/2020 R4 (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.03 AU to 192.4 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 951.1 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 June 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
16.521 AU
True anomaly
152.32°
Distance from Earth
16.613 AU
As of
24 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 — 16.521 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 16.613 AU from Earth today (2.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 37m 41s
Declination
+13° 21′ 40″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
16.6 AU
Elongation from the Sun
83.81° — well clear of the Sun

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
96.713 AU
Eccentricity
0.9894
Inclination
164.46°
Orbital period
951.1 years
Perihelion
1.029 AU
Aphelion
192.397 AU
Longitude of ascending node
323.27°
Argument of periapsis
46.71°
Epoch · J2000
2459286.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 45.8 LD
0.1176 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
-1.155

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
2,399
Data arc
549 days
First observed
29 August 2020
Last observed
1 March 2022
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 June 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
12.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.8
12.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2020 R4

Named

Sources