3I/ATLAS
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase	PA
Perihelion	29 Oct 2025	9.6	1.357 AU	2.307 AU	13h29m	-06°57'	12.8°	9.4°	302°
Nearest approach	19 Dec 2025	11.5	2.288 AU	1.798 AU	10h46m	+07°06'	107.0°	24.3°	292°
Today	10 Sep 2026	22.7	11.116 AU	11.590 AU	07h14m	+19°21'	59.5°	4.5°	276°

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 6.4 + 5 log[∆] + 10.5 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 3I/ATLAS are:

    e (Eccentricity)                : 6.1398840
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 1.3565070
    i (Inclination)                 : 175.11290
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 322.15350
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 128.00550
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 14.04671
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.84903
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2460977.98250

    Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21
    Reference                       : MPEC 2026-G41

    Classification(s):              : Interstellar

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   07 14 22.0   +19 21 42    11.570   11.079   58.5    4.4   275   22.7 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   07 14 23.3   +19 21 18    11.589   11.113   59.5    4.5   276   22.7 
2026-09-10 01:54 UT   07 14 23.4   +19 21 16    11.590   11.116   59.5    4.5   276   22.7 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   07 14 24.2   +19 20 55    11.607   11.147   60.4    4.5   276   22.7 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   07 14 24.8   +19 20 33    11.626   11.181   61.4    4.5   276   22.7 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   07 14 25.1   +19 20 11    11.644   11.215   62.4    4.6   276   22.7 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   07 14 25.1   +19 19 49    11.662   11.249   63.3    4.6   276   22.8 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   07 14 24.7   +19 19 28    11.680   11.283   64.3    4.6   276   22.8 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   07 14 24.1   +19 19 08    11.698   11.317   65.3    4.6   276   22.8 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   07 14 23.1   +19 18 48    11.716   11.351   66.3    4.7   276   22.8 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   07 14 21.7   +19 18 29    11.733   11.384   67.2    4.7   276   22.8 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   07 14 20.1   +19 18 10    11.751   11.418   68.2    4.7   276   22.8 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   07 14 18.1   +19 17 52    11.768   11.452   69.2    4.7   276   22.9 

    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.