[IAUC] CBET 2966: 20120106 : COMET C/2012 A1 (PANSTARRS)
quai en eps.harvard.edu
quai en eps.harvard.edu
Jue Ene 5 18:09:56 ART 2012
Electronic Telegram No. 2966
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
CBAT Director: Daniel W. E. Green; Hoffman Lab 209; Harvard University;
20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA 02138; U.S.A.
e-mail: cbatiau en eps.harvard.edu (alternate cbat en iau.org)
URL http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/index.html
Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network
COMET C/2012 A1 (PANSTARRS)
Richard Wainscoat and David J. Tholen, University of Hawaii, Institute
for Astronomy, report the discovery of a comet on images taken with the
Pan-STARRS 1 telescope at Haleakala (discovery observations tabulated below);
two images show the object to be distinctly extended compared to nearby stars
in both images. After posting on the Minor Planet Center's NEOCP webpage,
the object was also found to show cometary appearance on images taken by CCD
astrometrists elsewhere. Tomas Vorobjov writes that 46 stacked 30-s images
taken by R. Holmes (Ashmore, IL, USA; 0.81-m f/4 astrograph; Jan. 5.3 UT)
that were measured by L. Buzzi, S. Foglia, and himself show a diffuse 8" coma
of mag 19.6-19.7 and a faint tail 15"-20" long in p.a. 85 deg. Sergio Foglia
notes that six stacked 120-s images taken in very good transparency and
seeing (FWHM 1".1) with the 2.0-m f/10 "Faulkes Telescope North" at Haleakala
on Jan. 5.6 by P. Miller, P. Roche, A. Tripp, R. Miles, R. Holmes, L. Buzzi,
and himself (measured by Buzzi, Foglia, and Vorobjov) show a compact coma 7"
wide and a fan-shaped, slightly curved tail at least 15" long in p.a. around
65 deg.
2012 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag.
Jan. 2.45305 8 26 43.20 +48 50 41.6 20.5
2.46395 8 26 42.57 +48 50 42.1 20.5
The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital elements
by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-A35.
T = 2014 Mar. 11.8930 TT Peri. = 203.2278
Node = 279.2941 2000.0
q = 6.881843 AU Incl. = 118.9291
NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes
superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.
(C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 January 6 (CBET 2966) Daniel W. E. Green
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