Comet ATLAS - C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)
C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) (or Comet ATLAS) is a comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered by the ATLAS survey on 28 December 2019. Around 22 March 2020, the comet started disintegrating. Such fragmentation events are very common for Kreutz Sungrazers. The comet continues to fade and will not reach naked eye visibility.
C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) was the brightest comet of 2020 on 30 March when it had an apparent magnitude of about 7, but is currently around magnitude 9, making it about six times dimmer than its maximum brightness. It is fainter than C/2017 T2 (PanSTARRS), C/2019 Y1 (ATLAS), and C/2020 F8 (SWAN). It can be found with a telescope in the constellation of Camelopardalis as a diffuse object. Due to the fragmentation event, the comet is not expected to brighten, and will not reach naked eye visibility. It will reach its nearest point to Earth on 23 May and come to perihelion (closest to the Sun) on 31 May.
In April 2020, astronomers reported, on The Astronomer's Telegram, the possible disintegration of Comet ATLAS. The comet has fragmented into at least 4 pieces. The fragmentation may be the result of out gassing causing an increase in the centrifugal force of the comet. NASA subsequently reported that the Hubble Space Telescope has identified "about 30 fragments on April 20, and 25 pieces on April 23."
Gear Used:
Celestron RASA 8"
iOptron CEM60
ZWO ASI 183MC
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