[IAUC] IAUC 9066: P/2009 L18; THE EDGAR WILSON AWARD 2009 [25139-2009/08-R1]

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                                                  Circular No. 9066
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
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COMET P/2009 L18 (SKIFF)
     G. Sostero, E. Guido, P. Camilleri and E. Prosperi report the
recovery of comet P/2002 S1 (cf. IAUC 7972) from the co-addition of
forty unfiltered 60-s CCD exposures obtained remotely on June 15.6
UT with the 0.35-m f/7 reflector at the Skylive-Grove Creek
Observatory (near Trunkey, NSW, Australia).  The recovery was
confirmed from the co-addition of ten unfiltered 300-s exposures
with the same equipment on Aug. 18.6.  The object was of stellar
appearance on each occasion (the first observations on each night
are tabulated below); the complete set of astrometry appears on
CBET 1913, along with corrected and new pre-discovery observations
from Palomar, orbital elements for epoch 2002 Mar. 27, residuals,
and an ephemeris.

     2009 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     June 15.60811   20 49 13.30   -49 02 32.4   20.0   Sostero et al.
     Aug. 18.57587   19 45 30.32   -48 51 00.9   19.6     "

The indicated corrections to the predictions on MPC 59600 and in
the 2008/2009 Comet Handbook are Delta(T) = -0.16 and -0.19 day,
respectively.  The following improved orbital elements by B. G.
Marsden satisfy 149 observations, 2001-2009 (mean residual 0".6):

                    Epoch = 2010 Sept. 1.0 TT
     T = 2010 Aug. 14.5215 TT         Peri. =  37.8480
     e = 0.416859                     Node  = 346.8250  2000.0
     q = 2.420072 AU                  Incl. =  27.0551
       a =  4.150062 AU    n = 0.1165795    P =   8.45 years


THE EDGAR WILSON AWARD 2009
     The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory announces that the
2009 Edgar Wilson Award for the discovery of comets (cf. IAUCs 6936,
8962) is being divided among the following five individuals for
five different comets:  Robert E. Holmes, Jr. (Charleston, IL,
U.S.A.) for C/2008 N1 (cf. IAUC 8959); Stanislav Maticic (Crni Vrh
Observatory, Slovenia) for C/2008 Q1 (cf. IAUC 8966); Michel Ory
(Delemont, Switzerland) for P/2008 Q2 (cf. IAUC 8967); Koichi
Itagaki (Yamagata, Japan) for C/2009 E1 (cf. IAUC 9026); and Dae-am
Yi (Yeongwol-kun, Gangwon-do, Korea) for C/2009 F6 (cf. IAUC 9035).

                      (C) Copyright 2009 CBAT
2009 August 22                 (9066)            Daniel W. E. Green