C/2020 F2 (ATLAS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	19 Apr 2022	18.0	8.829 AU	7.847 AU	14h00m	+01°18'	167.2°	1.4°	193°
Perihelion	11 Jul 2022	18.2	8.816 AU	8.801 AU	13h19m	+04°46'	87.5°	6.6°	112°
Today	17 Sep 2026	20.5	12.293 AU	13.084 AU	09h48m	+28°19'	36.7°	2.8°	310°

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)                : 1.0007760
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 8.8161460
    i (Inclination)                 : 163.59090
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 250.28610
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 48.22380
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 203.24848
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 12.16165
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459772.13350

    Epoch                           : 2026 Sep 16
    Reference                       : MPC194166

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   09 48 19.8   +28 19 47    13.091   12.289   35.7    2.7   311   20.5 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   09 48 29.6   +28 19 31    13.085   12.293   36.6    2.8   310   20.5 
2026-09-17 03:52 UT   09 48 31.2   +28 19 28    13.084   12.293   36.7    2.8   310   20.5 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   09 48 39.3   +28 19 16    13.079   12.296   37.4    2.8   309   20.5 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   09 48 48.8   +28 19 03    13.072   12.300   38.3    2.9   309   20.5 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   09 48 58.1   +28 18 51    13.066   12.304   39.2    3.0   308   20.5 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   09 49 07.3   +28 18 42    13.059   12.307   40.0    3.0   308   20.5 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   09 49 16.3   +28 18 34    13.052   12.311   40.9    3.1   307   20.5 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   09 49 25.2   +28 18 28    13.044   12.315   41.8    3.1   307   20.5 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   09 49 33.9   +28 18 24    13.037   12.318   42.7    3.2   306   20.5 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   09 49 42.3   +28 18 22    13.029   12.322   43.6    3.2   306   20.5 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   09 49 50.6   +28 18 21    13.021   12.326   44.5    3.3   305   20.5 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   09 49 58.7   +28 18 22    13.013   12.329   45.4    3.3   305   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.