C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)

Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is a long-period comet discovered by the ATLAS survey. Early in 2020, the comet brightened rapidly and was initially predicted to become a spectacular naked-eye object. However, shortly before perihelion, the comet fragmented, causing its brightness to drop significantly. This image shows the comet during its active phase in March 2020, when the coma was still well-defined and the tail structure visible. With an orbital period of several thousand years, the comet will not return for many millennia.

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Technical Data