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P/2021 Q5 (ATLAS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Today15 Jun 202620.43.812 AU2.863 AU 19h07m-13°00'155.7°6.3°242°
Perihelion14 Aug 202714.41.234 AU1.720 AU 06h26m+23°09'45.1°35.5°273°
Nearest approach12 Feb 202816.72.308 AU1.447 AU 11h22m-14°19'142.1°15.2°317°
P/2021 Q5 (ATLAS)- 2026-06-15
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)                : 0.6241160
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.2344620
    i (Inclination)                 : 10.73650
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 239.72630
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 180.97730
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 240.68649
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.18206
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2461632.14550
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.95

    Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 14
    Reference                       : MPC194176

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

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   19 08 40.9   -13 02 16     2.882    3.820  154.0    6.7   243   20.4 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   19 07 57.5   -13 00 58     2.871    3.816  155.0    6.4   242   20.4 
2026-06-15 15:51 UT   19 07 28.4   -13 00 09     2.863    3.812  155.7    6.3   242   20.4 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   19 07 13.3   -12 59 44     2.860    3.811  156.1    6.2   241   20.4 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   19 06 28.3   -12 58 33     2.849    3.806  157.1    6.0   240   20.4 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   19 05 42.5   -12 57 25     2.839    3.801  158.1    5.7   239   20.4 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   19 04 55.9   -12 56 20     2.829    3.796  159.1    5.5   237   20.4 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   19 04 08.6   -12 55 18     2.820    3.791  160.1    5.2   236   20.3 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   19 03 20.6   -12 54 19     2.810    3.786  161.1    5.0   234   20.3 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   19 02 31.9   -12 53 23     2.801    3.781  162.0    4.8   232   20.3 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   19 01 42.6   -12 52 30     2.792    3.776  163.0    4.5   230   20.3 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   19 00 52.6   -12 51 40     2.784    3.771  163.9    4.3   227   20.3 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   19 00 02.1   -12 50 52     2.776    3.766  164.7    4.1   225   20.3 




    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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