C/2013 UQ4 (Catalina)

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]

C/2013 UQ4 (Catalina)
C/2013 UQ4 in infrared by NEOWISE on 7 July 2014
Discovery
Discovered byCatalina Sky Survey
Discovery date23 October 2013
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch12 July 2014
Observation arc862 days
Aphelion120.06 AU
Perihelion1.081 AU
Semi-major axis60.57 AU
Eccentricity0.982
Orbital period471 years
Inclination145.26°
317.66°
Argument of
periapsis		23.31°
Last perihelion5 July 2014
Earth MOID0.106 AU [1]
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
23.5 km [2]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		13.8 [1]
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		17.5 [1]

Discovery and identification

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

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]

alt text
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
  1. "Small-Body Database Lookup: C/2013 UQ4 (Catalina)". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  2. Benner, Lance. "Goldstone Radar Observations Planning: Comet C/2013 UQ4 (Catalina)". echo.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  3. 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.
  4. Comet C/2013 UQ4 Catalina: an image (9 July 2014), Gianluca Masi, The Virtual Telescope Project, 9 July 2014.
  5. "MPEC 2013-U54 : 2013 UQ4". IAU Minor Planet Center. 2013-10-27. Retrieved 2014-08-17. (K13U04Q)
  6. Johnson, J. A.; Sato, H.; Linder, T.; Holmes, R.; Buzzi, L.; Foglia, S.; Vorobjov, T. (1 May 2014). "Comet C/2013 UQ_4 (Catalina)". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 3882: 1. Bibcode:2014CBET.3882....1J.
  7. "Damoсloid asteroid 2013 UQ4 showed cometary activity". CometBase. May 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-30.
  8. "C/2013 UQ4 ( Catalina )". www.aerith.net.
  9. "NEOWISE Spots a Comet That Looked Like an Asteroid". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). 23 July 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2023.


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