C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	8 Oct 2025	8.0	0.334 AU	1.292 AU	12h35m	-12°27'	8.1°	25.0°	217°
Today	19 Nov 2025	10.5	1.091 AU	0.436 AU	10h46m	+43°17'	91.6°	64.9°	296°
Nearest approach	24 Nov 2025	10.7	1.193 AU	0.401 AU	09h34m	+63°56'	111.3°	50.4°	274°

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 12.0 + 5 log[∆] + 9.5 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/2025 K1 (ATLAS) are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 1.0002720
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 0.3342140
    i (Inclination)                 : 147.86510
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 97.55630
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 271.02300
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 186.34827
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -32.12916
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460956.94000

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 18
    Reference                       : MPEC 2025-VD2

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   10 55 25.0   +38 27 21     0.454    1.064   86.7   68.0   298   10.5 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   10 49 14.1   +41 54 54     0.440    1.084   90.2   65.8   296   10.5 
2025-11-19 09:12 UT   10 46 33.8   +43 17 31     0.436    1.091   91.6   64.9   296   10.5 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   10 41 51.1   +45 33 42     0.428    1.103   93.8   63.4   294   10.5 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   10 32 54.4   +49 22 05     0.418    1.122   97.5   60.8   292   10.5 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   10 21 53.2   +53 17 27     0.411    1.142  101.3   58.1   288   10.6 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   10 08 04.3   +57 16 01     0.405    1.161  105.1   55.3   284   10.6 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   09 50 25.2   +61 12 34     0.402    1.180  108.7   52.4   279   10.7 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   09 27 27.3   +65 00 07     0.401    1.199  112.3   49.6   271   10.7 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   08 57 10.3   +68 29 21     0.403    1.217  115.7   46.9   262   10.8 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   08 17 15.1   +71 28 01     0.408    1.236  118.8   44.4   250   10.9 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   07 26 12.2   +73 41 02     0.415    1.255  121.6   42.1   234   11.0 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   06 25 56.2   +74 53 46     0.424    1.273  124.0   40.0   216   11.1 

    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.