Skip Navigation Links

C/2022 A3 (Lemmon-ATLAS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach23 Feb 202316.94.172 AU3.245 AU 09h15m-05°32'156.7°5.4°49°
Perihelion29 Sep 202317.03.705 AU4.256 AU 09h29m-33°45'50.8°12.1°241°
Today18 Mar 202622.18.154 AU8.902 AU 22h48m-37°01'39.1°4.4°206°
C/2022 A3 (Lemmon-ATLAS)- 2026-03-18
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
-1 month
-1 week
-1 day
Now
+1 day
+1 week
+1 month

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 8.2 + 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/2022 A3 (Lemmon-ATLAS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9961640
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 3.7051260
    i (Inclination)                 : 88.36090
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 325.44950
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 234.89400
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 327.77958
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -54.86066
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460216.62150
    P (Orbital period in years)     : 30018.33

    Epoch                           : 2026 Mar 16
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-E44

    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
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   22 47 15.7   -37 07 20     8.903    8.142   38.0    4.3   204   22.0 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   22 47 40.6   -37 04 15     8.902    8.148   38.6    4.4   205   22.0 
2026-03-18 20:26 UT   22 48 01.5   -37 01 39     8.902    8.154   39.1    4.4   206   22.1 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   22 48 05.2   -37 01 12     8.901    8.155   39.2    4.4   206   22.1 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   22 48 29.6   -36 58 14     8.900    8.161   39.8    4.5   207   22.1 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   22 48 53.9   -36 55 19     8.899    8.167   40.4    4.5   208   22.1 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   22 49 17.9   -36 52 27     8.898    8.173   41.1    4.6   209   22.1 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   22 49 41.8   -36 49 39     8.896    8.180   41.7    4.7   210   22.1 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   22 50 05.4   -36 46 55     8.895    8.186   42.4    4.7   211   22.1 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   22 50 28.8   -36 44 15     8.893    8.192   43.0    4.8   212   22.1 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   22 50 52.0   -36 41 38     8.890    8.198   43.7    4.8   213   22.1 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   22 51 14.9   -36 39 05     8.888    8.205   44.4    4.9   213   22.1 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   22 51 37.6   -36 36 35     8.885    8.211   45.0    4.9   214   22.1 




    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.

Privacy policy