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C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion17 Mar 20208.10.826 AU1.471 AU 00h09m+30°47'32.4°40.2°10°
Nearest approach3 May 20209.81.194 AU1.093 AU 06h10m+81°48'69.1°52.1°54°
Today17 Jan 202633.017.056 AU17.296 AU 14h03m-46°27'74.3°3.2°284°
C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS)- 2026-01-17
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 8.5 + 5 log[∆] + 14.9 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 Y1 (ATLAS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9906510
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.8262540
    i (Inclination)                 : 73.23810
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 31.44920
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 57.92400
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 56.15964
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 54.22726
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458925.85870
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 830.85

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 12
    Reference                       : MPC119999

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; Returning (a < 10000 AU); External (P > 200 years); Liller

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   14 03 36.2   -46 22 32    17.313   17.046   72.6    3.2   283   33.0 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   14 03 38.3   -46 24 50    17.304   17.051   73.5    3.2   283   33.0 
2026-01-17 23:24 UT   14 03 39.9   -46 27 03    17.296   17.056   74.3    3.2   284   33.0 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   14 03 40.0   -46 27 06    17.296   17.057   74.3    3.2   284   33.0 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   14 03 41.4   -46 29 22    17.287   17.062   75.2    3.2   284   33.0 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   14 03 42.4   -46 31 37    17.278   17.068   76.0    3.2   285   33.0 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   14 03 43.1   -46 33 52    17.270   17.073   76.8    3.2   285   33.0 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   14 03 43.5   -46 36 06    17.261   17.078   77.7    3.2   286   33.0 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   14 03 43.6   -46 38 18    17.252   17.084   78.5    3.2   286   33.0 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   14 03 43.3   -46 40 30    17.243   17.089   79.4    3.2   287   33.0 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   14 03 42.7   -46 42 41    17.234   17.095   80.2    3.3   288   33.0 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   14 03 41.7   -46 44 51    17.225   17.100   81.1    3.3   288   33.0 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   14 03 40.5   -46 47 00    17.215   17.106   81.9    3.3   289   33.0 




    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.

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