Orbit of Comet 3I/ATLAS
Orbital elements listed here are taken from the Small-Body Database Lookup, and represent the current best solution.
Orbital Elements (Solution JPL#29)
| Epoch | 2460882.5 (2025-Jul-26.0) TDB | |
| Perihelion Time | T = 2025-Oct-29.48337098 | |
| Perihelion Time (JD) | T = 2460977.983370982484 | |
| Orbital Period | not defined | |
| Semi-major Axis | a = -0.2639605456438713 au | |
| Perihelion Distance | q = 1.356062963460816 au | |
| Eccentricity | e = 6.137369905616049 | |
| Inclination | i = 175.1128860522239° | |
| Ascending Node | Ω = 322.1527181958458° | |
| Argument of Perihelion | ω = 128.012084236624° | |
| Min. Orbital Intersection Dist. | MOID = 0.363275 au |
Full Orbit From Above
View of Comet 3I/ATLAS orbit as seen from the North ecliptic pole with the comet and planets shown at the time of the comet's minimum orbital distance to Earth. From the JPL Small-Body Database Browser.
Orbit in Oblique View
Oblique view of the portion of Comet 3I/ATLAS orbit around its MOID, viewed from 30° above the ecliptic plane. The black dots denote the positions when the comet is closest to the Earth.
Orbit in Earth Co-Orbital View
The orbit of Comet 3I/ATLAS around perihelion, in the Earth's co-orbital reference frame, as seen from above (top panel) and in the ecliptic plane (bottom panel). The black circle denotes the comet's position on Dec 19 2025, when it is closest to the Earth.
