490P/ATLAS
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	28 Sep 2024	22.0	1.070 AU	1.394 AU	15h25m	-23°09'	49.8°	45.7°	108°
Nearest approach	11 Oct 2024	22.1	1.085 AU	1.378 AU	16h31m	-23°54'	51.3°	45.9°	100°
Today	5 Nov 2025	29.0	3.707 AU	2.833 AU	04h35m	+36°32'	147.4°	8.3°	238°

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. The light curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from an MPEC, or the latest values provided by the minor planet center. (21.0 + 5 log[∆] + 10.0 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 490P/ATLAS are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6469960
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.0698020
    i (Inclination)                 : 12.26720
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 307.58920
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 332.57800
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 280.70458
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -5.61547
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460581.62250
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.28

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 04
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-YC7

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.854

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   04 37 02.7   +36 33 37     2.837    3.699  145.7    8.7   240   28.9 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   04 36 04.3   +36 33 11     2.834    3.704  146.8    8.4   239   28.9 
2025-11-05 14:05 UT   04 35 29.6   +36 32 52     2.833    3.707  147.4    8.3   238   29.0 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   04 35 05.0   +36 32 37     2.832    3.709  147.9    8.2   237   29.0 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   04 34 04.7   +36 31 55     2.829    3.714  148.9    7.9   236   29.0 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   04 33 03.7   +36 31 04     2.827    3.718  150.0    7.7   235   29.0 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   04 32 01.9   +36 30 06     2.826    3.723  151.0    7.4   233   29.0 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   04 30 59.3   +36 28 59     2.824    3.728  152.0    7.2   232   29.0 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   04 29 56.0   +36 27 44     2.823    3.733  153.1    6.9   230   29.0 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   04 28 52.1   +36 26 20     2.822    3.738  154.1    6.6   229   29.0 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   04 27 47.6   +36 24 48     2.822    3.743  155.1    6.4   227   29.0 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   04 26 42.6   +36 23 08     2.822    3.748  156.1    6.2   225   29.0 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   04 25 37.1   +36 21 19     2.822    3.752  157.0    5.9   223   29.0 

    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.