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C/2023 E1 (ATLAS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Perihelion30 Jun 202310.61.027 AU0.644 AU14h47m+79°54'72.5°70.7°126°
Nearest approach17 Aug 202310.41.287 AU0.376 AU21h46m+36°27'130.1°37.0°180°
Today16 Oct 202525.18.344 AU7.643 AU04h01m-19°32'132.1°5.1°303°
C/2023 E1 (ATLAS)- 2025-10-16
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 11.5 + 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/2023 E1 (ATLAS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9465660
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.0272560
    i (Inclination)                 : 38.28420
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 164.53090
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 105.92870
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 94.51167
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 36.56782
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460126.28720
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 84.29

    Epoch                           : 2025 Oct 15
    Reference                       : MPEC 2024-D33

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   04 02 02.7   -19 30 15     7.643    8.340  131.8    5.1   302   25.1 
2025-10-16 14:06 UT   04 01 50.6   -19 32 31     7.643    8.344  132.1    5.1   303   25.1 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   04 01 42.0   -19 34 05     7.643    8.347  132.3    5.1   303   25.1 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   04 01 21.0   -19 37 53     7.644    8.354  132.9    5.0   305   25.1 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   04 00 59.6   -19 41 36     7.645    8.361  133.4    5.0   306   25.1 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   04 00 37.8   -19 45 16     7.646    8.368  133.9    4.9   307   25.1 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   04 00 15.7   -19 48 53     7.648    8.375  134.4    4.9   309   25.1 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   03 59 53.3   -19 52 25     7.649    8.382  134.9    4.8   310   25.1 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   03 59 30.6   -19 55 53     7.651    8.388  135.3    4.8   312   25.1 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   03 59 07.5   -19 59 18     7.653    8.395  135.8    4.7   313   25.1 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   03 58 44.2   -20 02 38     7.656    8.402  136.2    4.7   314   25.1 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   03 58 20.6   -20 05 54     7.658    8.409  136.6    4.7   316   25.1 




    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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