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C/2013 UQ₄ (Catalina)

C/2013 UQ4 (Catalina)

C/2013 UQ4 in infrared by NEOWISE on 7 July 2014
Discovery
Discovered by	Catalina Sky Survey
Discovery date	23 October 2013
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch	12 July 2014
Observation arc	862 days
Aphelion	120.06 AU
Perihelion	1.081 AU
Semi-major axis	60.57 AU
Eccentricity	0.982
Orbital period	471 years
Inclination	145.26°
Longitude of ascending node	317.66°
Argument of periapsis	23.31°
Last perihelion	5 July 2014
Earth MOID	0.106 AU [1]
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	23.5 km [2]
Comet total magnitude (M1)	13.8 [1]
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2)	17.5 [1]

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).^[3]

Discovery and identification[edit]

The object was discovered on October 23, 2013, by Catalina Sky Survey, in Arizona in the United States, with an estimated apparent magnitude around 18.5.^[4][5] The object, that had an asteroid-like appearance but a comet-like orbit, was named 2013 UQ₄.^[4][5] On 26 April 2014 the object was spotted by astronomer Michael Mattiazzo to be slightly diffuse in two minute exposures obtained with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a 400mm f/2.8 lens.^[6] On May 7, 2014, astronomers A. Novichonok and T. Prystavski noticed too a fuzzy, coma-like aspect, revealing it was indeed a comet (with total brightness 13.5 mag and coma diameter of 1.5').^[7][4] The object was then given a comet designation of C/2013 UQ₄ (Catalina).^[4]

Approach to Sun and Earth[edit]

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.^[4] The comet peaked around apparent magnitude 9 and was visible in small telescopes.^[8] The comet was also observed by the NEOWISE mission on 7 July 2014 in the infrared, and was noted that the comet had a tail measuring 100.000 kilometers in length.^[9] From late July 2014 until March 2015, as seen from Earth, the comet appeared near Arcturus.^[8]

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 (i.e. perigee was on July 10th, at a distance of 47 million kilometres (29 million miles)

References[edit]

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