C/2019 F1 (ATLAS-Africano)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	20 Jun 2021	14.5	3.606 AU	3.068 AU	23h23m	-83°17'	114.2°	14.9°	275°
Nearest approach	21 Jun 2021	14.5	3.606 AU	3.068 AU	23h27m	-83°25'	114.2°	14.9°	276°
Today	6 Jun 2026	20.9	13.646 AU	14.518 AU	02h46m	+23°32'	29.7°	2.1°	265°

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)                : 0.9997370
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.6059540
    i (Inclination)                 : 54.29250
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 38.67000
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 251.25050
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 98.48807
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -50.25667
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459386.12990

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 05
    Reference                       : MPC194160

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   02 45 56.0   +23 30 12    14.521   13.639   28.7    2.0   266   20.9 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   02 46 11.4   +23 32 14    14.518   13.645   29.5    2.1   265   20.9 
2026-06-06 04:24 UT   02 46 14.2   +23 32 37    14.518   13.646   29.7    2.1   265   20.9 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   02 46 26.6   +23 34 17    14.516   13.651   30.4    2.2   265   20.9 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   02 46 41.7   +23 36 19    14.513   13.656   31.2    2.2   265   20.9 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   02 46 56.7   +23 38 21    14.511   13.662   32.1    2.3   264   20.9 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   02 47 11.6   +23 40 23    14.508   13.668   33.0    2.3   264   20.9 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   02 47 26.3   +23 42 24    14.504   13.673   33.9    2.4   264   20.9 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   02 47 40.8   +23 44 25    14.501   13.679   34.7    2.4   263   20.9 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   02 47 55.2   +23 46 26    14.497   13.685   35.6    2.5   263   20.9 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   02 48 09.4   +23 48 26    14.493   13.690   36.5    2.5   263   20.9 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   02 48 23.5   +23 50 26    14.489   13.696   37.4    2.6   262   20.9 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   02 48 37.4   +23 52 26    14.485   13.702   38.2    2.6   262   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.