C/2013 UQ4 (Catalina)

Comet C/2013 UQ₄ (Catalina), images from July 9th, 10th and 11th 2014, showing the evolution of the shape of the comet with its relative position to Earth (ie perigee was on July 10th, at a distance of 47 million kilometres (29 million miles).

C/2013 UQ₄ (Catalina) is a Solar System comet that came close to the Earth on July 10, 2014, at a distance of 0.314 AU (47,000,000 km; 29,200,000 mi).^[1]

Discovery and identification

The object was discovered on October 23, 2013 by Catalina Sky Survey, in Arizona in the United States.^[2][3] The object, that had an asteroid-like appearance but a comet-like orbit, was named 2013 UQ₄.^[2][3] On May 7, 2014, the object was spotted by astronomers A. Novichonok and T. Prystavski with a fuzzy, coma-like aspect, revealing it was indeed a comet (with total brightness 13.5 mag and coma diameter of 1.5').^[4][2] The object was then given a comet designation of C/2013 UQ₄ (Catalina).^[2]

Approach to Sun and Earth

The comet reached its perihelion (the point that is closest to the Sun) on June 5, 2014, and then its perigee (the point that is closest to Earth) on July 10, 2014, at a distance of about 47 million kilometres.^[2] The comet peaked around apparent magnitude 9 and was visible in small telescopes.^[5] From late July 2014 until March 2015, as seen from Earth, the comet will appear near Arcturus.^[5]

References

1. Comet C/2013 UQ4 Catalina at minimum distance from the Earth: an image (10 July 2014), Gianluca Masi, The Virtual Telescope Project, 10 July 2014.
2. Comet C/2013 UQ4 Catalina: an image (9 July 2014), Gianluca Masi, The Virtual Telescope Project, 9 July 2014.
3. "MPEC 2013-U54 : 2013 UQ4". IAU Minor Planet Center. 2013-10-27. Retrieved 2014-08-17. (K13U04Q)
4. "Damoсloid asteroid 2013 UQ4 showed cometary activity". CometBase. May 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-30.
5. http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2013UQ4/2013UQ4.html