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C/2019 F1 (ATLAS-Africano)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion20 Jun 202114.53.607 AU3.069 AU 23h23m-83°18'114.3°14.9°276°
Nearest approach21 Jun 202114.53.607 AU3.069 AU 23h26m-83°26'114.3°14.9°276°
Today16 Jan 202620.712.842 AU12.585 AU 02h16m+20°03'103.0°4.3°72°
C/2019 F1 (ATLAS-Africano)- 2026-01-16
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)                : 0.9999270
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.6072240
    i (Inclination)                 : 54.27420
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 38.66670
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 251.27370
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 98.52896
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -50.25031
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459386.29450

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jan 15
    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
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   02 16 48.0   +20 03 32    12.560   12.835  104.1    4.3    72   20.7 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   02 16 45.7   +20 03 41    12.583   12.841  103.1    4.3    72   20.7 
2026-01-16 02:09 UT   02 16 45.5   +20 03 42    12.585   12.842  103.0    4.3    72   20.7 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   02 16 43.8   +20 03 51    12.605   12.847  102.0    4.3    72   20.7 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   02 16 42.2   +20 04 02    12.628   12.853  101.0    4.3    72   20.7 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   02 16 40.9   +20 04 15    12.651   12.858  100.0    4.3    72   20.7 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   02 16 40.0   +20 04 30    12.673   12.864   99.0    4.3    72   20.8 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   02 16 39.4   +20 04 46    12.696   12.870   98.0    4.3    72   20.8 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   02 16 39.1   +20 05 03    12.719   12.876   97.0    4.4    71   20.8 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   02 16 39.2   +20 05 22    12.742   12.882   96.0    4.4    71   20.8 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   02 16 39.6   +20 05 43    12.765   12.887   94.9    4.4    71   20.8 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   02 16 40.3   +20 06 05    12.787   12.893   93.9    4.4    71   20.8 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   02 16 41.4   +20 06 29    12.810   12.899   92.9    4.4    71   20.8 




    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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