C/2024 L5 (ATLAS)
< C
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Denneau R. Siverd J. Tonry H. Weiland |
| Discovery site | ATLAS South Africa |
| Discovery date | 14 June 2024 |
| Designations | |
| A117uUD | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 22 July 2024 (JD 2460513.5) |
| Observation arc | 103 days |
| Number of observations | 247 |
| Orbit type | Hyperbolic |
| Perihelion | 3.4320 AU |
| Eccentricity | 1.03743 |
| Inclination | 166.573° |
| 139.166° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 290.521° |
| Last perihelion | 10 March 2025 |
| Earth MOID | 2.46255 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.00497 AU |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 6.7 |
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.
It is the second known Solar System comet to become interstellar after experiencing a planetary encounter. C/1980 E1 (Bowell) reached a hyperbolic trajectory after an encounter with Jupiter on 9 December 1980. C/2024 L5 experienced a very close encounter at 0.0048 AU with Saturn on 24 January 2022. C/2024 L5 could be a former retrograde, inactive centaur. The receding velocity of C/2024 L5 when entering interstellar space will be 2.8 km/s, moving towards the constellation of Triangulum.