C/2020 F2 (ATLAS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	19 Apr 2022	18.0	8.830 AU	7.848 AU	14h00m	+01°18'	167.2°	1.4°	193°
Perihelion	11 Jul 2022	18.2	8.817 AU	8.800 AU	13h19m	+04°46'	87.6°	6.6°	112°
Today	5 Nov 2026	20.5	12.476 AU	12.565 AU	09h51m	+28°45'	82.5°	4.5°	292°

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 4.1 + 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 C/2020 F2 (ATLAS) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0005810
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 8.8165480
    i (Inclination)                 : 163.59110
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 250.28480
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 48.22300
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 203.24795
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 12.16135
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459772.01740

    Epoch                           : 2026 Nov 04
    Reference                       : MPC194166

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   09 52 02.5   +28 43 49    12.583   12.471   81.2    4.5   293   20.5 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   09 51 59.8   +28 45 10    12.570   12.474   82.2    4.5   293   20.5 
2026-11-05 08:32 UT   09 51 58.8   +28 45 39    12.565   12.476   82.5    4.5   292   20.5 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   09 51 56.8   +28 46 32    12.557   12.478   83.2    4.5   292   20.5 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   09 51 53.5   +28 47 57    12.543   12.482   84.2    4.5   292   20.5 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   09 51 49.8   +28 49 23    12.530   12.486   85.2    4.5   292   20.5 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   09 51 45.7   +28 50 52    12.516   12.489   86.2    4.5   291   20.5 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   09 51 41.3   +28 52 22    12.503   12.493   87.2    4.5   291   20.5 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   09 51 36.5   +28 53 55    12.489   12.497   88.1    4.5   291   20.5 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   09 51 31.3   +28 55 30    12.476   12.501   89.1    4.5   291   20.5 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   09 51 25.8   +28 57 06    12.462   12.504   90.1    4.5   290   20.5 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   09 51 19.9   +28 58 44    12.449   12.508   91.1    4.5   290   20.5 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   09 51 13.6   +29 00 25    12.435   12.512   92.2    4.5   290   20.5 

    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.