Re: [BAA Comets] Fragmentation of C/2023 R1 (PANSTARRS)
Nick James 02 Aug 2026 05:35 UTC
Students involved in the BAA work experience programme have continued to
provide images taken using the 2.0-m LCOGT telescopes at Haleakala and
Siding Spring. The latest images are from July 30.5.
The B fragment is now around magnitude 19.1 and it is approximately 14
arcseconds down the tail from the main component. The best-fit drift
rate of the B fragment with respect to the main object is 0.16"/day.
There is no sign of the C fragment.
The B fragment is now quite diffuse and difficult to measure but the
quality of the astrometry from these large telescopes is very good.
My thanks to all observers who have submitted observations of this comet.
Nick.