|
C/2020 M5 (ATLAS) |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
PA |
| Perihelion | 19 Aug 2021 | 15.0 | 3.003 AU | 3.628 AU | 12h29m | +43°18' | 45.2° | 13.8° | 60° |
| Nearest approach | 2 Mar 2022 | 15.0 | 3.560 AU | 2.601 AU | 12h02m | +10°25' | 162.7° | 4.8° | 260° |
| Today | 1 Nov 2026 | 24.9 | 14.468 AU | 14.674 AU | 08h38m | -57°00' | 76.1° | 3.8° | 275° |
C/2020 M5 (ATLAS)- 2026-11-01
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 7.4 + 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) : 1.0000160
q (Perihelion distance) : 3.0032550
i (Inclination) : 93.14840
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 351.95470
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 126.27090
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 356.23515
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 53.61141
T (Time of perihelion passage) : 2459445.78330
Epoch : 2026 Oct 31
Reference : MPC194168
Classification(s): : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)
Ephemerides
Date Time RA (2000) DEC (2000) delta radius elong phase PA magn
2026-10-31 00:00 UT 08 38 14.0 -56 56 02 14.673 14.462 75.8 3.8 274 24.9
2026-11-01 00:00 UT 08 38 09.0 -57 00 24 14.674 14.468 76.1 3.8 275 24.9
2026-11-01 01:14 UT 08 38 08.7 -57 00 38 14.674 14.468 76.1 3.8 275 24.9
2026-11-02 00:00 UT 08 38 03.4 -57 04 46 14.675 14.473 76.4 3.8 276 24.9
2026-11-03 00:00 UT 08 37 57.3 -57 09 08 14.676 14.479 76.6 3.8 277 24.9
2026-11-04 00:00 UT 08 37 50.7 -57 13 29 14.677 14.485 76.9 3.8 278 24.9
2026-11-05 00:00 UT 08 37 43.5 -57 17 50 14.678 14.490 77.2 3.8 279 24.9
2026-11-06 00:00 UT 08 37 35.8 -57 22 09 14.678 14.496 77.5 3.8 280 24.9
2026-11-07 00:00 UT 08 37 27.6 -57 26 29 14.679 14.502 77.7 3.8 281 24.9
2026-11-08 00:00 UT 08 37 18.9 -57 30 47 14.680 14.508 78.0 3.8 282 24.9
2026-11-09 00:00 UT 08 37 09.6 -57 35 04 14.681 14.513 78.3 3.8 283 24.9
2026-11-10 00:00 UT 08 36 59.7 -57 39 20 14.682 14.519 78.6 3.8 284 24.9
2026-11-11 00:00 UT 08 36 49.3 -57 43 36 14.682 14.525 78.9 3.8 285 24.9
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.
