260P/McNaught

Comet McNaught 4, also known as 260P/McNaught, is a periodic comet with a 6.9-year orbit around the Sun. It is one of several comets discovered by Australian astronomer, Robert H. McNaught.

Observational history

On 20 May 2005, Robert H. McNaught found his fourth periodic comet from the telescope of the Siding Spring Observatory, where he reported it has a slightly diffuse head with a narrow tail about 30 arcseconds in length.
It was later rediscovered in 15–18 May 2012 from the Pierre Auger Observatory as P/2012 K2, which was later confirmed to be a recovery of comet McNaught 4 a few days later.
During its 2019 apparition, a small outburst had temporarily brightened the comet from magnitude 13.78 to 13.59.

Physical characteristics

Photometric analysis of the comet between August 2012 and January 2013 has determined that its nucleus rotates at a single axis, completing one stable rotation once every.
The nucleus itself has an effective radius of. However, near-infrared observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope found a smaller effective radius at around km, indicating that it may have an elongated shape.