[IAUC] IAUC 9244: P/2011 W2 [25139-2012/04-R1]

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                                                  Circular No. 9244
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
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Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network


COMET P/2011 W2 (RINNER)
     As first announced on CBET 2922, Claudine Rinner, Ottmarsheim,
France, reports her discovery of a comet with a 1' tail in p.a. 293
deg on CCD images taken with a 0.5-m f/3 reflector located at the
Oukaimeden Observatory near Marrakech, Morocco (discovery
observations tabulated below).  After posting on the Minor Planet
Center's NEOCP webpage, numerous other CCD astrometrists have also
commented on the object's cometary appearance from images obtained
during Nov. 29.3-29.5 UT.  H. Sato (Tokyo, Japan; remotely using
telescopes at the RAS Observatory near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) writes
that exposures taken with a 0.25-m reflector in bad seeing show
magnitude 17.6 without an obvious coma, but with an obvious tail
20" long in p.a. 275 deg; exposures taken with a 0.51-m reflector
show a 13" coma and the same tail dimensions.  R. Ligustri (Udine,
Italy) also used a 0.25-m reflector remotely at the RAS Observatory
near Mayhill to find a coma elongated toward p.a. 270 deg (size 33").
E. Guido, G. Sostero, and N. Howes write that stacked images taken
remotely with a 0.25-m reflector at the GRAS Observatory near
Mayhill show a diffuse coma nearly 15" in diameter.  J. V. Scotti
reports that images taken with the Spacewatch 1.8-m reflector (+
Schott OG-515 filter, spanning V+R+I; pixel size 0".62) shows a
diffuse coma of diameter 7" with a tail extending 0'.30 in p.a. 289
deg.  G. Hug (Scranton, KS, U.S.A., 0.56-m reflector) notes a broad
tail extending 1' in p.a. 285 deg.

     2011 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     Nov. 28.12723    7 57 45.14   + 5 36 54.5   17.9   Rinner
          28.14138    7 57 45.27   + 5 36 45.8   18.0     "
          28.15552    7 57 45.36   + 5 36 37.2   17.9     "
          28.16967    7 57 45.50   + 5 36 28.3   17.9     "

The initial astrometry appeared on MPEC 2011-W80.  The following
revised elliptical orbital elements by G. V. Williams appeared on
MPEC 2011-Y02:

                    Epoch = 2011 Nov. 15.0 TT
     T = 2011 Nov.  5.5667 TT         Peri. = 220.8149
     e = 0.395764                     Node  = 232.0616  2000.0
     q = 2.303591 AU                  Incl. =  13.7843
       a =  3.812401 AU    n = 0.1324055    P =   7.44 years

                      (C) Copyright 2011 CBAT
2011 December 17               (9244)            Daniel W. E. Green