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C/2019 F1 (ATLAS-Africano)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion20 Jun 202114.53.608 AU3.069 AU 23h22m-83°18'114.3°14.9°276°
Nearest approach21 Jun 202114.53.608 AU3.069 AU 23h26m-83°26'114.3°14.9°276°
Today5 Dec 202520.512.601 AU11.768 AU 02h22m+20°15'146.4°2.5°80°
C/2019 F1 (ATLAS-Africano)- 2025-12-05
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 8.9 + 5 log[∆] + 5.8 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)                : 0.9999860
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.6075230
    i (Inclination)                 : 54.26960
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 38.66600
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 251.27980
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 98.53975
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -50.24882
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459386.34910

    Epoch                           : 2025 Dec 04
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-GJ3

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   02 23 18.4   +20 16 10    11.746   12.593  148.0    2.4    80   20.5 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   02 23 03.1   +20 15 33    11.761   12.599  146.9    2.4    80   20.5 
2025-12-05 11:03 UT   02 22 56.1   +20 15 16    11.768   12.601  146.4    2.5    80   20.5 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   02 22 48.0   +20 14 57    11.777   12.605  145.9    2.5    80   20.5 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   02 22 33.2   +20 14 21    11.792   12.610  144.8    2.6    79   20.5 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   02 22 18.6   +20 13 46    11.808   12.616  143.7    2.6    79   20.6 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   02 22 04.2   +20 13 11    11.824   12.622  142.7    2.7    79   20.6 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   02 21 50.1   +20 12 38    11.840   12.628  141.6    2.8    78   20.6 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   02 21 36.3   +20 12 04    11.857   12.633  140.6    2.8    78   20.6 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   02 21 22.8   +20 11 32    11.874   12.639  139.5    2.9    78   20.6 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   02 21 09.5   +20 11 00    11.891   12.645  138.4    3.0    78   20.6 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   02 20 56.6   +20 10 29    11.908   12.651  137.4    3.0    77   20.6 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   02 20 43.9   +20 09 59    11.926   12.657  136.3    3.1    77   20.6 




    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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