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Comet

ATLAS

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C/2025 Q1 (ATLAS)

ATLAS is a comet in the Comet orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 10.1 AU to 2,305.74 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 39,402.6 years. Orbit from the JPL solution of 12 December 2025.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
11.043 AU
True anomaly
34.05°
Distance from Earth
11.059 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 — 11.043 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 11.059 AU from Earth today (1.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 58m 40s
Declination
-60° 01′ 06″
Constellation
Pavo
Distance from Earth
11.06 AU
Elongation from the Sun
86.21° — 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
1,157.919 AU
Eccentricity
0.9913
Inclination
66.15°
Orbital period
39,402.6 years
Perihelion
10.1 AU
Aphelion
2,305.737 AU
Longitude of ascending node
326.96°
Argument of periapsis
280.24°
Epoch · J2000
2460704.5
Orbit class · COM
Comet
Earth MOID · 3,767.9 LD
9.6819 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.594

Orbit quality

Observations used
24
Data arc
5.71 years
First observed
31 January 2020
Last observed
16 October 2025
Residual RMS
0.59 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
12 December 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
6.6
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8.3
6.6

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2025 Q1

Named

Sources