C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) - DISINTEGRATED
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Nearest approach	23 Oct 2024	8.7	0.306 AU	0.879 AU	12h46m	-18°29'	17.5°	103.2°	249°
Disintegration	28 Oct 2024	2.9	0.061 AU	0.946 AU	14h03m	-14°49'	2.3°	139.6°	221°
Perihelion	28 Oct 2024	0.5	0.008 AU	0.995 AU	14h13m	-13°09'	0.5°	81.4°	78°
Today	21 Dec 2024	-	1.563 AU	1.009 AU	08h49m	-42°28'	103.3°	37.8°	320°

Do NOT attempt to observe a comet near the sun. Doing so may cause permanent eye damage or blindless!
Observing in daylight should only be done by those who have proper expertise and equipment to do so safely.

This comet is a sungrazer. Although it may become very bright at perihelion, this will only be for a very short period very close to the sun.

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.)

The orbital elements of C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9999090
            q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.0079610
            i (Inclination)                 : 141.91120
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 347.21020
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 69.21400
            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 282.95750
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 35.22092
            T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460611.98610
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 818.26

            Epoch                           : 2024 Dec 20
            Reference                       : MPEC 2024-VB7

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

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations respectively from COBS or the MPC. The gray curve is based on the absolute magnitude and slope parameter as calculated from the original MPEC, or the latest values provided by the MPC (12.00 + 5 log[∆] + 8.00 log[r]), whereas the red curve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 12.81 + 5 log[∆] + 7.23 log[r]). The additional green curve shows the effect of forward scattering, occurring when the comet is between the earth and the sun, for a gas-to-dust light ratio δ90 of 0.30. (See Marcus 2007)

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.
A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found further down this page as well.

The following chart shows the current location of the comet in a smaller, upside-down telescopic field of view.

A printable version of the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-12-21 00:00 UT   08 53 24.5   -42 29 01     1.005    1.552  102.5   38.2   319   14.2 
2024-12-21 13:50 UT   08 49 33.0   -42 28 14     1.009    1.563  103.3   37.8   320   14.2 
2024-12-22 00:00 UT   08 46 43.4   -42 27 15     1.012    1.571  103.9   37.4   321   14.3 
2024-12-23 00:00 UT   08 40 05.5   -42 23 28     1.018    1.590  105.2   36.7   324   14.3 
2024-12-24 00:00 UT   08 33 31.5   -42 17 44     1.025    1.609  106.4   35.9   326   14.4 
2024-12-25 00:00 UT   08 27 02.3   -42 10 05     1.033    1.628  107.6   35.1   328   14.4 
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   08 20 38.5   -42 00 34     1.041    1.647  108.8   34.4   331   14.5 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   08 14 20.9   -41 49 15     1.050    1.666  110.0   33.7   333   14.5 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   08 08 10.1   -41 36 12     1.059    1.685  111.1   33.0   335   14.6 

    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.