C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) Archives - Astrobiology

Slit views of C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) on 2020 April 13.53 and 20.53 (UT). The ephemeris positions of the two major fragments A and B (from MPEC 2020-L06 and 2023-J29, respectively) are marked. On April 13.53 (UT), the slit was centered on A. On April 20.53 (UT), the slit was over both A and B. The rectangles, 4.1′′ in height and 2.3′′ in width, along the slits are sub-apertures. They were used to extract sub-aperture spectra (see §3). The arrows in the upper right corner mark the north and the east directions, and those in the lower right corners mark the velocity and comet-Sun vectors -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Dust And Volatiles In The Disintegrating Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)

by Keith CowingJanuary 5, 2024January 5, 2024

C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is an Oort cloud comet with an orbital period of ∼5895yr. Starting in March 2020, its nucleus underwent disintegration.