C/2019 F1 (ATLAS-Africano)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	20 Jun 2021	14.5	3.605 AU	3.067 AU	23h23m	-83°17'	114.2°	14.9°	275°
Nearest approach	21 Jun 2021	14.5	3.605 AU	3.067 AU	23h27m	-83°26'	114.2°	14.9°	275°
Today	24 Oct 2026	20.9	14.433 AU	13.484 AU	02h43m	+26°05'	161.9°	1.2°	220°

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 9.2 + 5 log[∆] + 5.2 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 F1 (ATLAS-Africano) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9996090
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.6046710
    i (Inclination)                 : 54.30840
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 38.67360
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 251.23020
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 98.45307
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -50.26212
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459386.03980
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 885183.51

    Epoch                           : 2026 Oct 23
    Reference                       : MPC194160

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; Returning (a < 10000 AU); External (P > 200 years)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   02 43 41.4   +26 05 55    13.482   14.423  160.2    1.3   224   20.9 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   02 43 24.2   +26 05 34    13.483   14.428  161.1    1.3   222   20.9 
2026-10-24 19:38 UT   02 43 10.1   +26 05 16    13.484   14.433  161.9    1.2   220   20.9 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   02 43 06.9   +26 05 12    13.484   14.434  162.0    1.2   220   20.9 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   02 42 49.6   +26 04 49    13.486   14.440  162.9    1.2   218   20.9 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   02 42 32.2   +26 04 24    13.488   14.445  163.7    1.1   216   20.9 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   02 42 14.8   +26 03 58    13.490   14.451  164.6    1.0   213   20.9 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   02 41 57.3   +26 03 31    13.492   14.456  165.4    1.0   210   20.9 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   02 41 39.8   +26 03 03    13.495   14.462  166.1    0.9   207   20.9 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   02 41 22.3   +26 02 34    13.498   14.467  166.8    0.9   204   20.9 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   02 41 04.7   +26 02 04    13.502   14.473  167.5    0.9   200   20.9 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   02 40 47.2   +26 01 33    13.505   14.478  168.1    0.8   196   20.9 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   02 40 29.6   +26 01 01    13.509   14.484  168.6    0.8   192   20.9 

    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.