| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Pan-STARRS 1 |
| Discovery site | Haleakala Observatory |
| Discovery date | 24 June 2020 |
| Designations | |
| 2020 MK4 | |
| Chiron-type comet[1] centaur[2] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 4 | |
| Observation arc | 857 days (2.348 years) |
| Aphelion | 6.254 AU |
| Perihelion | 6.025 AU |
| 6.145 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.01952 |
| 15.23 years | |
| 138.7° | |
| 0° 3m 52.917s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.723° |
| 1.446° | |
| 164.5° | |
| Earth MOID | 5.031 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.578 AU |
| TJupiter | 3.005 |
| Physical characteristics[3] | |
| 2.2 km (1.4 mi)[4] | |
| 0.04–0.1 (assumed) | |
| |
| 11.3±0.03[1] | |
P/2020 MK4 (PanSTARRS) is aChiron-type comet or activecentaur orbiting in theouter Solar System betweenJupiter andSaturn.[3] It was discovered on 24 June 2020, by thePan-STARRS survey atHaleakala Observatory in Hawaii, United States.[5]
A lower limit for theabsolute magnitude of the nucleus isHg =11.30±0.03 that, for analbedo in the range 0.1—0.04, gives an upper limit for its size in the interval23–37 km.[3] However, a follow-up study in 2022 showed that the size of its nucleus is much smaller, at only 2.2 km (1.4 mi) in diameter.[4]
The comet'scolor indices, (g′–r′) =0.42±0.04 and (r′–i′) =0.17±0.04, indicates the comet's nucleus has aneutral or gray color.[3]
P/2020 MK4 was discovered in outburst state and by late 2020, it had returned to its regular brightness.[6][3] It was recovered by the Lowell Discovery Telescope at an extremely faint apparent magnitude of 24.5 in September 2022.[7] It was officially recognized as a comet by the Minor Planet Center on 20 November 2022, in which it was given theperiodic comet designationP/2020 MK4.[8][9]
Centaurs have short dynamical lives due to strong interactions with the giant planets.[10]P/2020 MK4 follows a very chaotic orbital evolution that may lead it to be ejected from theSolar System during the next 200,000 years.[3] Extensive numerical simulations indicate thatP/2020 MK4 may have experienced relatively close flybys withcomet29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann, in some cases with one of both objects were transient Jovian satellites; during these events,P/2020 MK4 may have crossed the coma of comet 29P when in outburst.[3]
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