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°	276°
Today	4 Jul 2026	20.9	13.805 AU	14.369 AU	02h52m	+24°27'	54.6°	3.4°	258°

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)                : 0.9997110
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.6056440
    i (Inclination)                 : 54.29610
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 38.67080
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 251.24590
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 98.48013
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -50.25791
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459386.11800

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jul 03
    Reference                       : MPC194160

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   02 52 05.6   +24 25 18    14.380   13.797   53.3    3.4   259   20.9 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   02 52 16.0   +24 27 09    14.372   13.803   54.2    3.4   258   20.9 
2026-07-04 09:40 UT   02 52 20.2   +24 27 54    14.369   13.805   54.6    3.4   258   20.9 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   02 52 26.2   +24 29 00    14.365   13.809   55.1    3.5   258   20.9 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   02 52 36.2   +24 30 50    14.357   13.814   56.0    3.5   258   20.9 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   02 52 46.0   +24 32 40    14.348   13.820   56.9    3.5   258   20.9 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   02 52 55.5   +24 34 29    14.340   13.825   57.8    3.6   258   20.9 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   02 53 04.8   +24 36 18    14.331   13.831   58.7    3.6   258   20.9 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   02 53 13.8   +24 38 05    14.323   13.837   59.6    3.6   258   20.9 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   02 53 22.6   +24 39 52    14.314   13.842   60.5    3.7   257   20.9 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   02 53 31.2   +24 41 39    14.305   13.848   61.4    3.7   257   20.9 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   02 53 39.5   +24 43 25    14.296   13.854   62.3    3.7   257   20.9 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   02 53 47.6   +24 45 10    14.287   13.859   63.2    3.8   257   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.