Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams

IAUC 7896: P/2002 BV = 2001 CB_40; IM Nor

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                                                  Circular No. 7896
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Mailstop 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://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html  ISSN 0081-0304
Phone 617-495-7440/7244/7444 (for emergency use only)


COMET P/2002 BV = 2001 CB_40 (YEUNG)
     An apparently asteroidal object discovered by William Kwong
Yeung, Benson, AZ, on CCD images taken with a 0.45-m reflector near
Apache Peak on Jan. 21.5 UT (discovery observation below taken from
MPS 47535) was identified by the Minor Planet Center with
additional apparently asteroidal observations (including some in
1998 and 2000-2001) made at several observatories through its
routine processing.  Noting the unusual nature of its orbit, T.
Spahr obtained unfiltered CCD observations with M. Calkins at the
1.2-m reflector on Mount Hopkins on May 5, 6, and 7 that show the
object (m_1 about 17) larger than nearby stars of similar
brightness and with a persistent faint tail about 5" long in p.a.
315 deg.

     2002 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.        m2
     Jan. 21.49201   15 03 44.64   -13 47 01.1   20.4

Astrometry and elliptical orbital elements appear on MPEC 2002-J34:

                    Epoch = 2002 Mar. 27.0 TT
     T = 2002 Mar. 11.05812 TT        Peri. = 178.77060
     e = 0.3611535                    Node  =  40.14116 2000.0
     q = 2.2444617 AU                 Incl. =  11.51510
       a =  3.5133036 AU   n = 0.14966855   P =   6.585 years


IM NORMAE
     C. E. Woodward, University of Minnesota; B. Miller, Gemini
Observatory; and S. G. Starrfield, Arizona State University, report
that medium-resolution blue spectra (range 360-670 nm, resolution
0.38 nm) of IM Nor were obtained on Apr. 29.40 UT with the Blanco
4-m telescope (+ RC spectrograph) at Cerro Tololo.  The spectrum is
dominated by features characteristic of the nebular phase of
development of a nova shell.  Evident features include the Balmer
series, He I 587.3- and 667.6-nm, He II 468.1-nm, [N II] 575.3-nm,
N III 463.7-nm, [O III] 496.1- and 500.6-nm, and [O I] 636.4-nm, as
well as weaker emission lines due to [Fe II] and coronal lines such
as [Fe III] 608.6-nm.  Strong P-Cyg profiles (IAUC 7818) are not
detected; however, many of the forbidden lines exhibit 'castellate'
line profiles (Austin et al. 1996, A.J. 111, 869), suggesting the
presence of multiple velocity components in the shell.  The
observed H-alpha line flux was approximately 5.1 x 10**-11 erg
cm**-2 s**-1.  Follow-up observations with Chandra are anticipated,
and additional ground-based observations of IM Nor are encouraged.

                      (C) Copyright 2002 CBAT
2002 May 9                     (7896)            Daniel W. E. Green

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