Recurring Outbursts of P/2019 LM$_4$ (Palomar)

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the recurring outbursts of comet P/2019 LM4 (Palomar) observed by ZTF in 2019 and 2020, identifying two significant brightness increases that explain its detection and recovery.

Contribution

It provides a preliminary analysis linking two major outbursts to the comet's observed activity in 2019 and 2020.

Findings

Two major outbursts caused brightness increases of over 2 and 3.9 magnitudes.

Outbursts occurred around late April to early May 2019 and in early May 2020.

The analysis attributes the comet's discovery and recovery to these outbursts.

Abstract

We present a preliminary analysis of comet P/2019 LM$_4$ (Palomar) as observed by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey in 2019 and 2020. We find that the discovery of the comet in 2019 and the recovery in 2020 is largely attributed to two separate outbursts that are $\gtrsim2$ and $\gtrsim3.9$ mag in strength. The outbursts occurred around the end of April to early May of 2019 as well as between 2020 May 8.31 and 9.52 UTC, respectively.