Comet C/2019 Y4 Atlas fragmentation: further evolution – 17 Apr. 2020
Blessed with a very good seeing, we grabbed new images of comet C/2014 Y4 Atlas, spotting its fragments and cloud debris.
C/2019 Y4 Atlas and its fragments. 17 Apr. 2020
The image above comes from the average of 88, 60-seconds exposures, remotely taken with the “Elena” (PlaneWave 17″+Paramount ME+SBIG STL-6303E) robotic unit available at Virtual Telescope. The telescope tracked the apparent motion of C/2019 Y4 and images were stacked using the orbit of the comet, to provide the best accuracy. Image scale is 0.63″/pixel. Unsharp masking was carefully performed to enhance subtle details in the inner coma: we likely see a few pieces/condensations and a cloud of trailing debris. The overall look of the comet evolved quite a lot over the last week: be sure to check it out.
Needless to say, we will continue monitoring this interesting object.
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