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Comet

ATLAS

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P/2019 A2 (ATLAS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
7.789 AU
True anomaly
193.52°
Distance from Earth
7.877 AU
As of
22 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth ATLAS — 7.789 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 7.877 AU from Earth today (1.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 25m 52s
Declination
-16° 25′ 24″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
7.89 AU
Elongation from the Sun
80.44° — 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
5.733 AU
Eccentricity
0.382
Inclination
14.86°
Orbital period
13.73 years
Perihelion
3.543 AU
Aphelion
7.923 AU
Longitude of ascending node
139.46°
Argument of periapsis
324.23°
Epoch · J2000
2458523.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 1,001.6 LD
2.5738 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.783

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
284
Data arc
2.52 years
First observed
3 November 2018
Last observed
13 May 2021
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 August 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
11.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 8.3
11.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2019 A2

Named

Close approaches 9 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2058-04-01 01:55:00 Juptr 1.1076 AU 431.0 LD 7.3 km/s
2073-11-02 05:45:00 Juptr 1.7387 AU 676.7 LD 6.5 km/s
2088-11-21 17:46:00 Juptr 1.4516 AU 564.9 LD 7.5 km/s
2152-12-01 01:49:00 Juptr 1.8774 AU 730.6 LD 9.7 km/s
2168-01-24 12:40:00 Juptr 1.7595 AU 684.8 LD 6.4 km/s
2183-07-31 06:24:00 Juptr 1.2585 AU 489.8 LD 6.6 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources