[IAUC] CBET 463: 20060405 : COMET 174P/ECHECLUS

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                                                  Electronic Telegram No. 463
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
M.S. 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
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COMET 174P/ECHECLUS
     S. Tegler, Northern Arizona University; G. Consolmagno, Vatican
Observatory; and W. Romanishin, University of Oklahoma, obtained R-band
CCD images on Apr. 2.3 UT with the Vatican Advanced Technology 1.8-m
telescope at Mt. Graham, which show that the coma previously reported
around this object (IAUCs 8656, 8660, 8677) has developed a complex
structure.  A low-surface-brightness coma of diameter 2' is centered 1'
east of the nuclear condensation.  A higher-surface-brightness
condensation about 12" in diameter is centered about 7" west of the
nuclear condensation, which itself is of mag R about 20.1 and is clearly
offset from the center of the higher-surface-brightness structure,
suggesting a detached coma produced by a transient event.  A rough
measurement of the entire 2'-diameter object gives a total R magnitude
of = 16, while the higher-surface-brightness region has R = 17.9 (as
measured in a 12"-diameter circle centered 7" west of the nuclear
condensation).  Images can be found at http://observatory.ou.edu.


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                         (C) Copyright 2006 CBAT
2006 April 5                     (CBET 463)               Daniel W. E. Green