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Comet

ATLAS

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P/2022 L3 (ATLAS)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
8.435 AU
True anomaly
148.03°
Distance from Earth
9.358 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth ATLAS — 8.435 AU from the Sun ATLAS
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. ATLAS is 9.358 AU from Earth today (1.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 54m 28s
Declination
+01° 46′ 32″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
9.36 AU
Elongation from the Sun
20.71° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
6.508 AU
Eccentricity
0.6282
Inclination
21.54°
Orbital period
16.6 years
Perihelion
2.42 AU
Aphelion
10.596 AU
Longitude of ascending node
29.8°
Argument of periapsis
10.33°
Epoch · J2000
2459883.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 556.4 LD
1.4298 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.418

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
1,088
Data arc
615 days
First observed
12 June 2022
Last observed
17 February 2024
Residual RMS
0.57 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
25 February 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
10.7
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 11.8
10.7

Discovery & classification

Also known as 2022 L3

Named

Close approaches 6 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2103-06-04 22:38:00 Juptr 1.8815 AU 732.2 LD 9.1 km/s
2123-01-25 21:21:00 Juptr 1.9771 AU 769.4 LD 11.8 km/s
2159-01-02 16:33:00 Saturn 0.4704 AU 183.1 LD 5.6 km/s
2159-01-02 16:33:00 Satrn 0.4704 AU 183.1 LD 5.6 km/s

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

Sources