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C/2019 E3 (ATLAS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion16 Nov 202316.810.313 AU10.373 AU 04h08m-77°24'83.8°5.5°349°
Nearest approach25 Aug 202416.810.424 AU10.069 AU 02h50m-67°49'107.9°5.3°286°
Today20 Sep 202617.511.690 AU10.954 AU 00h13m-45°23'135.4°3.5°352°
C/2019 E3 (ATLAS)- 2026-09-20
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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The interactive orbit chart above shows the comet's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)


Light curve

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations from COBS. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 1.6 + 5 log[∆] + 10.0 log[r]). An additional green curve is displayed when an increase in apparent brightness is expected due to forward scattering of sunlight, which occurs when a dust-rich comet is located between the Earth and the Sun. (See Marcus 2007)



Charts

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the comet over the same period as the light curve. The comet's current position is marked yellow.





The following chart shows the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.




Orbital elements

The orbital elements of C/2019 E3 (ATLAS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9989950
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 10.3133620
    i (Inclination)                 : 84.33440
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 347.17360
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 280.73090
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 319.65711
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -77.88081
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460264.56300

    Epoch                           : 2026 Sep 19
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-RA1

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   00 14 44.2   -45 23 52    10.945   11.686  135.8    3.4   349   17.5 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   00 14 11.4   -45 23 49    10.950   11.688  135.5    3.5   351   17.5 
2026-09-20 16:17 UT   00 13 49.1   -45 23 44    10.954   11.690  135.4    3.5   352   17.5 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   00 13 38.6   -45 23 41    10.956   11.691  135.3    3.5   352   17.5 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   00 13 05.7   -45 23 30    10.962   11.693  135.0    3.5   354   17.5 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   00 12 32.9   -45 23 14    10.968   11.696  134.7    3.5   355   17.5 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   00 12 00.0   -45 22 53    10.975   11.698  134.3    3.5   357   17.5 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   00 11 27.2   -45 22 28    10.982   11.701  134.0    3.5   358   17.5 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   00 10 54.5   -45 21 58    10.989   11.703  133.6    3.6   359   17.5 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   00 10 21.7   -45 21 24    10.996   11.705  133.2    3.6     1   17.5 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   00 09 49.1   -45 20 46    11.003   11.708  132.8    3.6     2   17.5 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   00 09 16.5   -45 20 02    11.011   11.710  132.4    3.6     4   17.5 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   00 08 44.0   -45 19 15    11.019   11.713  132.0    3.6     5   17.5 




    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between comet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between comet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-comet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-comet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km

Orbital elements usually provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Observations contributed by observers worldwide, via COBS (Comet Observation Database) or the MPC (Minor Planet Center)
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.

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