C/2023 B2 (ATLAS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	10 Mar 2023	15.4	1.740 AU	1.001 AU	11h36m	-54°15'	121.5°	29.1°	356°
Nearest approach	12 Apr 2023	15.2	1.792 AU	0.863 AU	12h06m	-36°05'	147.6°	17.4°	36°
Today	3 Mar 2026	28.2	10.168 AU	10.799 AU	20h10m	+18°56'	48.4°	4.2°	298°

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 13.0 + 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/2023 B2 (ATLAS) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9971130
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.7398870
    i (Inclination)                 : 40.76570
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 218.07100
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 317.36740
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 183.18494
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -26.24761
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460014.19690
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 14794.88

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 12
    Reference                       : MPEC 2023-XP6

    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
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   20 09 56.5   +18 50 19    10.799   10.155   47.4    4.1   300   28.2 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   20 10 17.4   +18 53 36    10.799   10.161   47.9    4.2   299   28.2 
2026-03-03 22:28 UT   20 10 36.7   +18 56 41    10.799   10.168   48.4    4.2   298   28.2 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   20 10 38.0   +18 56 54    10.799   10.168   48.4    4.2   298   28.2 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   20 10 58.4   +19 00 15    10.798   10.175   49.0    4.2   297   28.2 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   20 11 18.5   +19 03 37    10.798   10.182   49.5    4.2   296   28.2 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   20 11 38.4   +19 07 01    10.797   10.189   50.0    4.3   295   28.2 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   20 11 58.0   +19 10 27    10.797   10.196   50.6    4.3   294   28.2 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   20 12 17.3   +19 13 55    10.796   10.203   51.2    4.3   293   28.2 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   20 12 36.4   +19 17 24    10.795   10.210   51.7    4.4   292   28.2 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   20 12 55.2   +19 20 55    10.793   10.217   52.3    4.4   291   28.2 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   20 13 13.7   +19 24 28    10.792   10.224   52.9    4.4   290   28.2 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   20 13 32.0   +19 28 02    10.791   10.230   53.5    4.5   290   28.2 

    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.