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IAUC 8752: C/2006 S3

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IAUC number 

                                                  Circular No. 8752
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 C/2006 S3 (LONEOS)
     B. Skiff reports the LONEOS discovery of a comet (discovery
observation tabulated below); confirming 5-min R-band CCD frames
taken by Mandushev (Lowell Observatory) using the Hall 1.1-m
telescope at Lowell's Anderson Mesa station show the comet to be
moderately condensed with a coma 11" in diameter, somewhat
asymmetric toward the east.  Following posting on the 'NEO
Confirmation Page', other observers have confirmed the cometary
appearance.  E. J. Christensen reports that four stacked 30-s
prediscovery Catalina Sky Survey observations obtained by A. R.
Gibbs in good seeing with the 0.68-m Schmidt telescope on Sept.
17.32-17.36 UT reveal a 10" coma and no tail; Christensen's own
observations (four 30-s co-added frames) from Sept. 20.3 also show
a 10" coma.  P. Birtwhistle (Great Shefford, Berkshire, U.K.,
0.40-m f/6 Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector) reports that three CCD
images taken in poor seeing on Sept. 20.0 show the object to be
noticably diffuse with a diameter of 10", possibly elongated to 15"
in p.a. 100/280 deg, with no obvious tail; his images from Sept.
21.1 in better seeing indicate the object to be diffuse and rather
unconcentrated, elongated east-west with dimensions approximately
9" x 6", with the center of light being slightly offset to the
east, and again no apparent tail.  Images taken by J. Young at
Table Mountain (0.61-m f/16 Cassegrain reflector) on Sept. 20.31-
20.35 show a coma of diameter 10" with very little condensation
toward the center and no tail noted; his frames from Sept. 21.32-
21.40 show a very diffuse 12" coma with little or no central
condensation, possibly elongated toward p.a. 110 deg.  R. Miles
(Stourton Caundle, Dorset, U.K., 0.28-m f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain
reflector) writes that his images from Sept. 21.0 show a coma of
diameter about 8"; his frames from Sept. 21.12-21.15 also reveal a
faint tail.

     2006 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Sept.19.31576    0 09 11.55   +10 01 02.0   19.0

The available astrometry, the following very preliminary parabolic
orbital elements, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2006-S38.  The
orbital elements are extremely uncertain; low-inclination post-
perihelic solutions are also possible.

     T = 2011 Dec. 28.773 TT          Peri. = 146.619
                                      Node  =  36.781   2000.0
     q = 4.12483 AU                   Incl. = 165.459

                      (C) Copyright 2006 CBAT
2006 September 21              (8752)            Daniel W. E. Green

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