[IAUC] IAUC 9044: C/2009 K1; 19P [25139-2009/08-R1]

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                                                  Circular No. 9044
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
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COMET C/2009 K1 (GIBBS)
     A. R. Gibbs reports his discovery of a comet with a well-
condensed 5" coma and a faint 7" tapered tail in p.a. 100 deg on
four co-added 30-s unfiltered CCD exposures taken in fair seeing
with the Mt. Lemmon 1.5-m reflector (discovery observation
tabulated below); four co-added 45-s exposures on May 18.2 UT
reveal a 5" diffuse coma around a brighter core, with a faint 8"
tapered tail in p.a. 100 deg.  After posting on the Minor Planet
Center's 'NEOCP' webpage, S. Foglia (Novara Veveri, Italy) writes
that 18 stacked 60-s CCD exposures taken by R. Holmes with a
0.61-m f/4 astrograph at Charleston, IL, U.S.A., on May 18.1 show a
diffuse, 10" coma.

     2009 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     May  16.15486    8 29 18.24   +18 27 43.1   18.7   Gibbs

2009 May 18                    (9044)            Daniel W. E. Green
The available astrometry (including Apr. 24 Mt. Lemmon prediscovery
observations identified by T. Spahr), the following preliminary
parabolic orbital elements, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC
2009-K12.  The comet appears to be periodic, but the orbital period
is highly uncertain.


COMET 19P/BORRELLY
     B. Haeusler, Maidbronn, Germany, writes that he found a
secondary condensation or knot in comet 19P, located 13" from the
primary condensation in p.a. 310 deg, on CCD images obtained with a
0.3-m Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector on May 7.91 UT.  Informed of
Haeusler's report, F. Kugel (Banon, France, 0.5-m telescope) notes
that his unfiltered CCD exposures on May 10.87 show the secondary
to be separated from the primary by 8" in p.a. 305 deg.  G. Sostero,
P. Camilleri, E. Prosperi, and E. Guido teamed up to obtain images
of 19P remotely using a 0.61-m Cassegrain reflector at the Sierra
Stars Observatory near Maarkleville, CA, U.S.A., on May 15.21,
showing a tailward, diffuse secondary condensation or knot situated
about 4".7 from the primary in p.a. 301 deg, which is about 1.5 mag
fainter than the primary central condensation.  Sostero et al. add
that their observations on May 17.21 show that the secondary has
significantly weakened, being more diffuse and elongated than on
May 15, with its ambiguous optocenter being essentially unchanged
in offset with respect to the primary.

                      (C) Copyright 2009 CBAT
2009 May 18                    (9044)            Daniel W. E. Green