[IAUC] IAUC 9078: P/2009 QG_31 [XXXXX-XXXX/XX-F1]

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                                                  Circular No. 9078
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
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COMET P/2009 QG_31
     An apparently asteroidal object discovered on CCD images taken
remotely in the course of the "La Sagra Sky Survey" (LSSS), with a
0.45-m f/2.8 reflector located at Sagra mountain in southeastern
Spain, has been found to show cometary appearance by CCD
astrometrists elsewhere.  The observation tabulated below was
assigned "discovery" status after the Minor Planet Center linked
"one-night" LSSS observations made on Aug. 19 with others made on
Aug. 25 (though earlier LSSS observations were made on Aug. 16),
and later LSSS and Catalina observations linked by the MPC allowed
the issuance a comet-like orbit on Sept. 8 (MPEC 2009-R26).

     2009 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Aug. 19.04841   22 45 37.88   -10 10 38.0   18.4

Images obtained with a 0.40-m reflector on Sept. 10.0 UT by the
LSSS team, to look for cometary appearance, showed no obvious coma,
but images taken by A. F. Tubbiolo and R. S. McMillan with the
Spacewatch 1.8-m reflector on Sept. 12.3 show the object to be
diffuse with a coma approximately 12"-15" in diameter.  E.
Bryssinck (near Cloudcroft, NM, U.S.A.; Tzec Maun 0.4-m reflector;
Sept. 16.3) finds a coma diameter of about 10".  F. Hormuth,
Almeria, Spain, writes that three stacked 180-s images obtained
with the Calar Alto 3.5-m telescope (+ prime-focus camera 'LAICA' +
r' filter) on Sept. 17.9 show a nearly round coma of diameter 12".
R. Miles, Stourton Caundle, Dorset, England, reports that images
taken on Sept. 18.4 by G. Muler with the 2-m 'Faulkes Telescope
North' at Haleakala show a faint coma of diameter about 10".  G.
Sostero, E. Guido, P. Camilleri, M. Jaeger, W. Vollmann, and E.
Prosperi report that 24 stacked, unfiltered, 60-s exposures
obtained remotely with a 0.35-m reflector at the Skylive-Grove
Creek Observatory (near Trunkey, Australia) on Sept. 18.5 show a
round coma nearly 7" in diameter.  R. Ligustri (Udine, Italy,
0.35-m reflector; Sept. 19.9) measured a coma diameter of 10"-15"
from fifteen stacked 240-s images.  Elliptical orbital elements
from MPEC 2009-S67 from 53 observations, Aug. 16-Sept. 19 (the
available astrometry appears on MPS 292728, 294488, 295077,
and 295950):

     T = 2009 Oct. 10.4284 TT         Peri. =   5.9231
     e = 0.399346                     Node  = 346.2506  2000.0
     q = 2.149305 AU                  Incl. =   5.0628
       a =  3.578274 AU    n = 0.1456108    P =   6.77 years

                      (C) Copyright 2009 CBAT
2009 September 29              (9078)            Daniel W. E. Green