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IAUC 3571: 1980s; BRANCHETT'S OBJECT IN Sct

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IAUC number 

                                                  Circular No. 3571
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Postal Address: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
TWX 710-320-6842 ASTROGRAM CAM     Telephone 617-864-5758


PERIODIC COMET LOVAS (1980s)
     Further positions have been reported as follows:

     1981 UT             R. A. (1950) Decl.        m1    Observer
     Jan. 26.20835     8 35 21.64   +32 52 14.2   17     Gibson
          31.21641     8 29 44.55   +32 28 11.1   17.5   Bulger

J. Gibson (Palomar Observatory).  1.2-m Schmidt telescope.
J. Bulger (Harvard Obs., Agassiz Station).  Measurer: C.-Y. Shao.

     The above observations negate the parabolic orbit on IAUC 3563
and confirm the earlier suggestion (IAUC 3559) that the comet is a
short-period one.  The following elements, by B. G. Marsden, satisfy
five observations (those of 1980 Dec. 9 and 14 and 1981 Jan. 9,
26 and 31) with a maximum residual of 1".5:

       T = 1980 Sept. 3.5584 ET
   Peri. =  72.5372                   e =   0.614862
   Node  = 342.3553   1950.0          a =   4.348271 AU
   Incl. =  12.2807                   n =   0.1086999
       q =   1.674686 AU              P =   9.067 years

     1981 ET     R. A. (1950) Decl.     Delta     r      m1
     Jan. 16     8 47.51    +33 27.1    1.191   2.148   17.2
          26     8 35.60    +32 53.2
     Feb.  5     8 24.85    +32 01.3    1.314   2.268   17.6
          15     8 16.68    +30 55.5
          25     8 11.76    +29 41.4    1.535   2.392   18.2
     Mar.  7     8 10.14    +28 23.7
          17     8 11.57    +27 05.4    1.835   2.519   18.8
          27     8 15.59    +25 47.8
     Apr.  6     8 21.69    +24 31.4    2.187   2.647   19.4
          16     8 29.48    +23 15.9
          26     8 38.54    +22 00.6    2.568   2.776   20.0


BRANCHETT'S OBJECT IN SCUTUM
     Further observations have failed to confirm a nova in Scutum
(cf. IAUC 3566), and there is doubt that Morgan's magnitude estimate
refers to a new object.  R. Argy1e writes that the Jan. 20
observation, from a 4-min unfiltered IIa-O exposure with the 0.33-m
astrograph, refers to an object that is not on the Palomar Sky Survey.


1981 February 2                (3571)              Brian G. Marsden

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