C/2024 L5 (ATLAS)
Possibly hyperbolic comet
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C/2024 L5 (ATLAS) is a comet that was discovered on 14 June 2024 as A117uUD by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), South Africa, Sutherland. It reached perihelion on 10 March 2025 at 3.432 AU (513.4 million km) from the Sun.[4][5]
R. Siverd
J. Tonry
H. Weiland
Comet C/2024 L5 (ATLAS) on 16 April 2025 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Denneau R. Siverd J. Tonry H. Weiland |
| Discovery site | ATLAS South Africa |
| Discovery date | 14 June 2024 |
| Designations | |
| A117uUD[1] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2][3] | |
| Epoch | 8 Feb 2025 (JD 2460714.5) |
| Observation arc | 405 days (1.11 years) |
| Number of observations | 1011 |
| Orbit type | Hyperbolic |
| Perihelion | 3.4324 AU |
| Eccentricity | 1.03736 |
| Inclination | 166.573° |
| 139.175° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 290.513° |
| Last perihelion | 10 March 2025 |
| Earth MOID | 2.46252 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.00572 AU |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 4.5 |
It is the second known Solar System comet to become interstellar after experiencing a planetary encounter.[5][1] C/1980 E1 (Bowell) reached a hyperbolic trajectory after an encounter with Jupiter on 9 December 1980.[6][7] C/2024 L5 experienced a very close encounter at 0.0048 astronomical units (720,000 km; 450,000 mi) with Saturn on 24 January 2022.[2][5][1] C/2024 L5 could be a former retrograde, inactive centaur.[8] The receding velocity of C/2024 L5 when entering interstellar space will be 2.8 km/s, moving towards the constellation of Triangulum.[8]
Orbit
JPL Horizons shows an outbound eccentricity greater than 1[3] so it will leave the Solar System eventually as C/1980 E1 (Bowell) is doing, but prior to its flyby to Saturn its eccentricity was 0.88.[1]
