[IAUC] CBET 2535: 20101105 : COMET C/2010 U3 (BOATTINI)

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                                                  Electronic Telegram No. 2535
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/2010 U3 (BOATTINI)
     A. Boattini reports his discovery of a faint comet with a moderately
diffuse coma that is 6"-7" wide and a central condensation that is about
3"-4" in size on four 30-s co-added CCD exposures taken with the Mt.
Lemmon 1.5-m reflector in Arizona (discovery observation tabulated below);
the coma was a bit elongated in p.a. 330 deg, but no clear tail is visible.
After posting on the 'NEOCP' webpage, other CCD astrometrists have also
reported on the object's cometary appearance, including W. H. Ryan (R-band
images, Magdalena Ridge 2.4-m reflector; Nov. 1.2 UT; diffuse with a tail
in p.a. about 300 deg; his images from Nov. 3.2 show the tail in p.a. about
330 deg); L. Elenin (Lyubertsy, Russia; stacked, unfiltered exposures taken
remotely, 0.45-m f/2.8 astrograph, ISON-NM Observatory near Mayhill, NM,
USA; Nov. 1.4; coma diameter about 10", faint tail about 13" long in p.a.
335 deg); S. Foglia (10" coma, wide tail toward p.a. 330 deg on exposures
taken by P. Miller, P. Roche, A. Tripp, and himself; 2.0-m f/10 'Faulkes
Telescope North' at Haleakala; Nov. 1.6); A. Novichonok (Kondopoga, Russia;
images taken by V. Gerke, Moscow, remotely, 0.40-m telescope at Ka-Dar
Observatory, TAU Station, Nizhniy Arkhyz; Nov. 1.78; round, very diffuse
coma of diameter 0'.3, total mag 18.2); E. Romas (Rostov-na-Donu, Russia)
and Novichonok (stacked images, 0.50-m reflector, Kislovodsk Mountain
Station, Pulkovo Observatory; Nov. 1.9; diffuse coma, diameter 22", with a
strong central condensation of mag about 19.5 and a 25" tail in p.a. 330
deg); J. E. McGaha (Tucson, AZ, U.S.A., 0.36-m reflector; Nov. 2.32-2.37;
18" coma elongated in p.a. 315 deg; no tail); E. Guido, N. Howes, and G.
Sostero (stacked exposures obtained remotely, 2.0-m f/10 'Faulkes
Telescope South'; Nov. 2.55; diffuse coma nearly 3" in diameter); S.
Foglia and T. Vorobjov (images taken by R. Holmes, Ashmore, IL, U.S.A.,
0.76-m reflector, Nov. 3.2; stacked exposures show a 10" coma and a 30"
tail in p.a. 330 deg); and G. Hug (Scranton, KS, U.S.A., 0.56-m
reflector; Nov. 3.3; diffuse with no detectable tail).

     2010 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     Oct. 31.33341    2 35 22.84   + 9 15 39.4   19.4   Boattini

The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital
elements by B. G. Marsden, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2010-V55.

    C/2010 U3 (Boattini)
T 2016 Oct. 17.014 TT
q  11.46126              (2000.0)            P               Q
                   Peri.   52.271       -0.096758       -0.918047
                   Node    48.173       +0.670559       -0.345595
e   1.0            Incl.   31.063       +0.735519       +0.194303
>From 66 observations 2010 Oct. 31-Nov. 5.


NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes
      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2010 CBAT
2010 November 5                  (CBET 2535)              Daniel W. E. Green