C/2019 F1 (ATLAS-Africano)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	20 Jun 2021	14.5	3.606 AU	3.067 AU	23h23m	-83°17'	114.2°	14.9°	275°
Nearest approach	21 Jun 2021	14.5	3.606 AU	3.067 AU	23h27m	-83°26'	114.2°	14.9°	275°
Today	18 Jul 2026	20.9	13.884 AU	14.245 AU	02h54m	+24°52'	67.3°	3.9°	256°

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)                : 0.9997000
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.6055050
    i (Inclination)                 : 54.29770
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 38.67110
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 251.24390
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 98.47661
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -50.25847
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459386.11240

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jul 17
    Reference                       : MPC194160

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   02 54 10.2   +24 50 20    14.259   13.876   65.9    3.8   257   20.9 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   02 54 17.3   +24 52 02    14.249   13.882   66.9    3.9   256   20.9 
2026-07-18 11:09 UT   02 54 20.5   +24 52 49    14.245   13.884   67.3    3.9   256   20.9 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   02 54 24.1   +24 53 44    14.239   13.887   67.8    3.9   256   20.9 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   02 54 30.6   +24 55 24    14.230   13.893   68.7    3.9   256   20.9 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   02 54 36.8   +24 57 04    14.220   13.898   69.6    3.9   256   20.9 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   02 54 42.8   +24 58 43    14.210   13.904   70.5    4.0   256   20.9 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   02 54 48.5   +25 00 21    14.199   13.910   71.4    4.0   256   20.9 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   02 54 54.0   +25 01 58    14.189   13.915   72.3    4.0   256   20.9 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   02 54 59.2   +25 03 34    14.179   13.921   73.3    4.0   256   20.9 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   02 55 04.1   +25 05 09    14.168   13.927   74.2    4.0   255   20.9 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   02 55 08.7   +25 06 44    14.158   13.932   75.1    4.0   255   20.9 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   02 55 13.0   +25 08 18    14.148   13.938   76.0    4.1   255   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.