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Comet

ATLAS

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C/2023 B2 (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 1.74 AU to 1,210.41 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 14,921 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 12 December 2023.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
11.743 AU
True anomaly
134.88°
Distance from Earth
11.67 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 — 11.743 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 11.67 AU from Earth today (1.6 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 49m 29s
Declination
+20° 49′ 55″
Constellation
Vulpecula
Distance from Earth
11.67 AU
Elongation from the Sun
91.62° — 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
606.075 AU
Eccentricity
0.9971
Inclination
40.77°
Orbital period
14,921 years
Perihelion
1.743 AU
Aphelion
1,210.407 AU
Longitude of ascending node
218.12°
Argument of periapsis
317.4°
Epoch · J2000
2460054.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 336.4 LD
0.8644 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.247

Orbit quality

Observations used
1,107
Data arc
242 days
First observed
16 November 2022
Last observed
16 July 2023
Residual RMS
0.33 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
12 December 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
5.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 34.5
5.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2023 B2

Named

Sources