C/2020 Y2 (ATLAS)

DEPARTED

Type: Periodic Perihelion date: 17 June 2022 Perihelion distance (q): 3.1 Aphelion distance (Q) : 2,280 Period (years): 38,571 Eccentricity (e): 1.00 Inclination (i): 101.3 JPL orbit diagram COBS lightcurve The ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) team discovered an 18th magnitude potential NEO in images taken with the 0.5m Schmidt at Mauna Loa on 28 December 2020. It was posted on the NEOCP as A10u1Pp and subsequently noted as cometary by Hirohisa Sato and other astrometrists. There were prediscovery observations from Catalina Sky Survey (December), Mt Lemmon Survey (April, May) and PanSTARRS (March, April, May). Observations (VEMag = visual equivalent magnitude) Date 10x10 mag Error VEmag Coma ' 10-Feb-21 17.5 0.4 15-Feb-21 16.4 0.4 19-Mar-21 17.00 0.05 16.5 0.4 06-Apr-21 16.68 0.03 16.3 0.4 14-Apr-21 16.59 0.03 16.2 0.4 03-May-21 16.61 0.07 15.8 0.4 05-May-21 15.9 0.4 14-May-21 15.8 0.4 12-Jun-21 16.3 0.4 17-Jan-23 16.34 0.03 15.8 0.6 09-Sep-23 17.2 0.4 11-Sep-23 17.2 0.4 18-Sep-23 17.4 0.4 25-Sep-23 17.3 0.4 06-Oct-23 17.2 0.4 14-Oct-23 17.2 0.4 22-Oct-23 17.4 0.4 03-Nov-23 17.7 0.4 11-Nov-23 17.7 0.4 10-Dec-23 18.3 0.4 29-Dec-23 17.7 0.4 09-Jan-24 18.4 0.4