Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Mikhail Maslov, an engineer at the Vega Observatory of the NSU Physics Department, photographed comet 240P/NEAT and a fragment that broke off from it through a telescope. The images were taken near the village of Verkh-Irmen in the Novosibirsk region on February 4, 2026.
Comet 240P/NEAT was discovered in 2002 by the American Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) system. It is a medium-sized Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of 7-8 years.
"During this comet's previous returns in 2010 and 2018, it exhibited brightness fluctuations—flares or, conversely, a loss of brightness—which suggests possible fragmentation or ejections of clouds of nuclear material, although no obvious fragments were observed during these returns," said Mikhail Maslov.
This time, during the comet's return, a fragment broke off from it, which was first noticed in October 2025.
"Comet fragmentation, which can be observed, is not a very frequent event, but it nevertheless occurs fairly regularly. Excluding solar comets, it occurs for observed comets approximately once every two to three years, but this is a very rough estimate," explained Mikhail Maslov.
In this image, the main comet, 240P/NEAT, is in the center, and a fragment designated 240P/NEAT B is visible as a smaller comet to the right and below the main comet. The conditions for shooting were not ideal, as there was significant light pollution.
"The fragment itself is currently approximately 30 times dimmer than the main comet. At the time of the photograph, the comet was 2.16 AU from the Sun (approximately 322 million km) and 1.73 AU from Earth (approximately 258 million km). It passed perihelion (its closest distance to the Sun) on December 19 of last year, meaning it is now moving away from the Sun," added Mikhail Maslov.
The comet and its fragment can only be observed visually through large professional telescopes, but thanks to the accumulation of light, they can also be photographed through an amateur telescope.
"The comet's brightness during the photograph was 12.5 magnitudes, and the fragment's brightness was around 16, far beyond the naked eye's visibility limit of 5-6 magnitudes. The comet is invisible even in amateur telescopes, and only the largest ones, 30-40 cm in diameter, can be seen, and even then, at the limit of their visibility under dark skies. To visually observe the fragment, professional telescopes, probably at least a meter in diameter, would be required. However, thanks to the accumulation of light, the comet and fragment can be captured in photographs through an amateur telescope," concluded Mikhail Maslov.
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