|
C/2020 M5 (ATLAS) |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
| Perihelion | 19 Aug 2021 | 15.0 | 3.000 AU | 3.627 AU | 12h29m | +43°13' | 45.2° | 13.8° | 59° |
| Nearest approach | 2 Mar 2022 | 15.0 | 3.556 AU | 2.598 AU | 12h02m | +10°26' | 162.6° | 4.8° | 260° |
| Today | 25 Nov 2025 | 23.9 | 12.478 AU | 12.591 AU | 09h02m | -55°39' | 81.2° | 4.5° | 294° |
C/2020 M5 (ATLAS)- 2025-11-25
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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 7.5 + 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 M5 (ATLAS) are:
e (Eccentricity) : 1.0000760
q (Perihelion distance) : 3.0002850
i (Inclination) : 93.16440
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 351.99810
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 126.24630
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 356.30406
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 53.63471
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2459446.16250
Epoch : 2025 Nov 24
Reference : MPEC 2023-FK0
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2025-11-24 00:00 UT 09 03 15.0 -55 32 43 12.592 12.469 80.6 4.5 293 23.9
2025-11-25 00:00 UT 09 02 59.0 -55 37 29 12.591 12.475 81.0 4.5 294 23.9
2025-11-25 10:37 UT 09 02 51.7 -55 39 35 12.591 12.478 81.2 4.5 294 23.9
2025-11-26 00:00 UT 09 02 42.4 -55 42 13 12.590 12.481 81.4 4.5 295 23.9
2025-11-27 00:00 UT 09 02 25.2 -55 46 55 12.590 12.487 81.8 4.5 296 23.9
2025-11-28 00:00 UT 09 02 07.4 -55 51 35 12.589 12.493 82.2 4.5 297 23.9
2025-11-29 00:00 UT 09 01 49.0 -55 56 12 12.588 12.499 82.5 4.5 298 23.9
2025-11-30 00:00 UT 09 01 30.0 -56 00 46 12.587 12.505 82.9 4.5 299 23.9
2025-12-01 00:00 UT 09 01 10.5 -56 05 18 12.587 12.511 83.3 4.5 300 23.9
2025-12-02 00:00 UT 09 00 50.3 -56 09 48 12.586 12.517 83.7 4.5 301 23.9
2025-12-03 00:00 UT 09 00 29.5 -56 14 15 12.585 12.523 84.1 4.5 302 23.9
2025-12-04 00:00 UT 09 00 08.2 -56 18 39 12.584 12.529 84.5 4.5 303 23.9
2025-12-05 00:00 UT 08 59 46.3 -56 22 60 12.584 12.535 84.9 4.5 304 23.9
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.
