[IAUC] IAUC 9243: P/2011 W1 [25139-2012/04-R1]
quai en eps.harvard.edu
quai en eps.harvard.edu
Dom Dic 18 00:57:48 ART 2011
Circular No. 9243
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
New postal address: Hoffman Lab 209; Harvard University;
20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA 02138; U.S.A.
CBATIAU en EPS.HARVARD.EDU ISSN 0081-0304
URL http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/index.html
Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network
COMET P/2011 W1 (PANSTARRS)
As first reported on CBET 2919, Richard Wainscoat and Larry
Denneau report the discovery of a comet on images taken with the
Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on Haleakala by N. Primak, A. Schultz, S.
Watters, J. Thiel, and T. Goggia (discovery observations tabulated
below); the object has a distinctly soft point-spread function
compared to stars in the same field. In follow-up observations by
Wainscoat and Marco Micheli using the 3.6-m Canada-France-Hawaii
Telescope on Nov. 27 UT (queue observer Adam Draginda) in
relatively poor seeing conditions (stellar FWHM = 1".3), the object
was clearly seen to be extended, with a FWHM = 2".4; the coma
appears to be slightly asymmetric, with a diffuse extension to the
west. Following posting on the Minor Planet Center's NEOCP webpage,
other CCD astrometrists have also found the object to show cometary
appearance. L. Buzzi (Varese, Italy; 0.60-m reflector) found a
round 9" coma of red mag 18.5 on stacked images taken on Nov. 26.9.
H. Sato (Tokyo, Japan; remotely using a 0.51-m reflector at the RAS
Observatory near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) found a moderately condensed
coma of diameter 16" with a total V-band magnitude of 18.4 within a
circular 8".2-aperture radius on Nov. 27.2. P. Birtwhistle (Great
Shefford, Berkshire, England; 0.40-m reflector) finds a circular
coma with a diameter up to 8" and red mag 18.2 but no trace of tail
on images from Nov. 28.0.
2011 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag.
Nov. 26.54431 5 09 49.12 +17 41 03.7 20.1
26.55916 5 09 48.54 +17 41 02.6 20.1
26.57402 5 09 47.99 +17 41 01.0 19.5
26.58829 5 09 47.40 +17 41 00.1 19.4
The initial astrometry (including prediscovery Spacewatch
observations from Nov. 23) appeared on MPEC 2011-W66. The
following revised orbital elements appeared on MPEC 2011-Y02:
T = 2012 Jan. 24.5590 TT Peri. = 282.8896
e = 0.289743 Node = 161.8563 2000.0
q = 3.308795 AU Incl. = 3.7175
a = 4.658586 AU n = 0.0980218 P = 10.06 years
(C) Copyright 2011 CBAT
2011 December 17 (9243) Daniel W. E. Green
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