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P/2021 Q5 (ATLAS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today16 Mar 202621.84.222 AU4.457 AU 19h05m-16°55'70.0°12.8°266°
Perihelion14 Aug 202714.41.234 AU1.721 AU 06h26m+23°09'45.0°35.5°273°
Nearest approach12 Feb 202816.72.308 AU1.448 AU 11h22m-14°20'142.1°15.2°317°
P/2021 Q5 (ATLAS)- 2026-03-16
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 12.3 + 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 P/2021 Q5 (ATLAS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6241740
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.2342870
    i (Inclination)                 : 10.73750
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 239.73070
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 180.97390
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 240.68755
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.18144
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461632.10830
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.95

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 15
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-E44

    Classification(s):              : Ecliptic; Jupiter family
    Tisserand (Jupiter)             : 2.804

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   19 04 40.7   -17 00 21     4.489    4.229   68.6   12.6   266   21.8 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   19 05 21.1   -16 57 29     4.470    4.225   69.5   12.7   266   21.8 
2026-03-16 16:45 UT   19 05 49.0   -16 55 28     4.457    4.222   70.0   12.8   266   21.8 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   19 06 01.0   -16 54 36     4.451    4.221   70.3   12.8   266   21.8 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   19 06 40.3   -16 51 42     4.433    4.217   71.1   12.9   265   21.8 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   19 07 19.0   -16 48 47     4.414    4.213   72.0   13.0   265   21.8 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   19 07 57.1   -16 45 52     4.395    4.209   72.8   13.1   265   21.8 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   19 08 34.6   -16 42 55     4.376    4.205   73.6   13.1   265   21.7 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   19 09 11.5   -16 39 58     4.356    4.200   74.5   13.2   265   21.7 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   19 09 47.7   -16 36 60     4.337    4.196   75.3   13.3   265   21.7 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   19 10 23.3   -16 34 01     4.318    4.192   76.1   13.3   265   21.7 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   19 10 58.2   -16 31 02     4.298    4.188   77.0   13.4   264   21.7 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   19 11 32.5   -16 28 02     4.279    4.184   77.8   13.5   264   21.7 




    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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