Huge Asteroid 2013 UQ4 Suddenly Becomes a Dark Comet in Our inner Solar System (Video)

Studies of the comet/asteroid’s light indicate that UQ4 is a very dark but rather large object some 4-9 miles (7-15 km) across. It’s estimated that C/2013 UQ4 takes at least 500 years to make one spin around the sun.

http://phys.org/news/2014-05-asteroid-uq4-suddenly-dark-comet.html

On May 7,  Artyom Novichonok, and Taras Prystavski used a remote telescope located in Siding Spring, Australia to take photos of 2013 UQ4 shortly before dawn in the constellation Cetus.

 The asteroid had grown a little fuzz, making the move to comethood. No longer a starlike object, 2013 UQ4 now displays a substantial coma or atmosphere about 1.5 arc minutes across with a more compact inner coma measuring 25 arc seconds in diameter.

Perihelion occurs on June 5 with the comet reaching magnitude +8-9 by month’s end. Peak brightness of 7th magnitude is expected during its close approach of Earth on July 10 at 29 million miles (46.7 million km).

http://nasaweb2.blogspot.gr/2014/05/nasa-web-asteroid-2013-uq4-suddenly.html

Image credit; NASA