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C/2020 H6 (ATLAS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach30 Apr 202115.64.853 AU3.853 AU 13h59m-12°27'172.3°1.6°108°
Perihelion30 Sep 202116.24.700 AU5.542 AU 14h21m+03°39'29.8°6.1°78°
Today5 Nov 202522.011.513 AU11.068 AU 22h05m+58°04'114.4°4.5°99°
C/2020 H6 (ATLAS)- 2025-11-05
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 5.1 + 5 log[∆] + 11.0 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 H6 (ATLAS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9984330
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 4.6996370
    i (Inclination)                 : 79.97870
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 213.71630
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 20.24510
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 217.38853
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.92302
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2459487.62440
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 164245.31

    Epoch                           : 2024 Jun 06
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-KD0

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   22 05 56.9   +58 12 47    11.054   11.505  114.7    4.5   101   22.0 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   22 05 57.1   +58 07 15    11.064   11.510  114.5    4.5   100   22.0 
2025-11-05 11:12 UT   22 05 57.4   +58 04 39    11.068   11.513  114.4    4.5    99   22.0 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   22 05 57.9   +58 01 42    11.073   11.516  114.2    4.5    99   22.0 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   22 05 59.4   +57 56 09    11.083   11.521  114.0    4.5    98   22.0 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   22 06 01.5   +57 50 36    11.092   11.527  113.7    4.5    97   22.0 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   22 06 04.2   +57 45 03    11.102   11.532  113.4    4.5    96   22.0 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   22 06 07.5   +57 39 30    11.112   11.538  113.1    4.5    95   22.0 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   22 06 11.4   +57 33 57    11.122   11.543  112.9    4.5    93   22.0 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   22 06 15.9   +57 28 24    11.132   11.549  112.5    4.5    92   22.0 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   22 06 21.1   +57 22 52    11.143   11.554  112.2    4.5    91   22.0 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   22 06 26.8   +57 17 20    11.153   11.560  111.9    4.6    90   22.0 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   22 06 33.1   +57 11 49    11.164   11.565  111.6    4.6    89   22.0 




    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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