Electronic Telegram No. 1343 Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION M.S. 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions) CBAT@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science) URL http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html COMET C/2008 H1 (LINEAR) An apparently asteroidal object discovered by the LINEAR project (discovery observation below) and posted on the Minor Planet Center's 'NEOCP' webpage, was first reported as cometary by E. Reina L., Masquefa Observatory, Hospitalet, Spain, on Apr. 19.0 UT (0.25-m f/3.3 Schmidt-Cassegrain); he noted a 25-arcsec coma of total mag 16.6 and a 43-arcsec tail in p.a. 233 deg. E. Guido and G. Sostero, observing remotely from Mayhill, New Mexico, on Apr. 19.5 (0.25-m f/3.4 reflector), report that stacking 20 unfiltered 60-second CCD exposures in strong moonlight showed the object to be diffuse in comparison to stars of similar brightness. J. M. Aymami, Observatorio Carmelita, Tiana, Spain (0.13-m f/5.9 refractor), remarked on a suspected coma in p.a. 209 deg on Apr. 19.8. At the same time R. Apitzsch, Wildberg, Germany (0.35-m f/4.2 reflector) noted a tail to the southwest. 2008 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Apr. 18.34722 17 02 01.68 +79 15 56.0 18.1 The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital elements and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2008-H09. T = 2008 Mar. 11.781 TT Peri. = 94.644 Node = 33.724 2000.0 q = 2.78957 AU Incl. = 75.770 NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars. (C) Copyright 2008 CBAT 2008 April 19 (CBET 1343) Brian G. Marsden