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Comet

ATLAS

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C/2021 P4 (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.08 AU to 628.12 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 5,580.2 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 30 July 2024.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
13.652 AU
True anomaly
147.66°
Distance from Earth
13.341 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 — 13.652 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 13.341 AU from Earth today (1.8 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 25m 30s
Declination
-42° 48′ 54″
Constellation
Grus
Distance from Earth
13.34 AU
Elongation from the Sun
106.14° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
314.6 AU
Eccentricity
0.9966
Inclination
56.31°
Orbital period
5,580.2 years
Perihelion
1.08 AU
Aphelion
628.12 AU
Longitude of ascending node
348.09°
Argument of periapsis
175.82°
Epoch · J2000
2459590.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 34.8 LD
0.0895 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
0.731

Orbit quality

Observations used
954
Data arc
346 days
First observed
10 August 2021
Last observed
22 July 2022
Residual RMS
0.65 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
30 July 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8
10.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2021 P4

Named

Sources