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IAUC 8809: V1280 Sco; C/2007 D2

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                                                  Circular No. 8809
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)


V1280 SCORPII
     R. J. Rudy, D. K. Lynch, and R. W. Russell, The Aerospace
Corporation; C. E. Woodward, University of Minnesota; and J.
Liebert and M. Cushing, University of Arizona, report 0.8- to 5-
micron spectroscopy of V1280 Sco from Feb. 14 and 16 UT, during the
nova's rise to maximum (Feb. 17.75 UT), using the SPEX instrument
on the 3-m reflector of the Infrared Telescope Facility:  "The
spectrum was dominated by the absorption lines of hydrogen, and
there was a pronounced jump due to the Paschen discontinuity.
Emission lines were almost entirely absent, with Paschen-beta and
Brackett-alpha just beginning to exhibit hints of emission and
P-Cyg behavior.  There were also numerous absorptions due to low-
lying but non-resonant transitions of neutral nitrogen and carbon.
The infrared continuum, with the exception of the Paschen and
Brackett discontinuities, was well matched by a 5300-K blackbody.
Between the two dates, the H I absorption lines' equivalent widths
decreased in strength by about a factor of two."
     Visual magnitude estimates:  Feb. 16.735 UT, 4.3 (A. Pearce,
Nedlands, W. Australia); 17.316, 4.2 (W. Souza, Santos, Brazil);
18.205, 4.7 (A. Kammerer, Malsch, Germany); 19.145, 4.6 (J. de S.
Aguiar, Campinas, Brazil); 19.416, 4.1 (R. Donner, Marblehead, MA,
USA); 20.140, 4.7 (Aguiar).


COMET C/2007 D2 (SPACEWATCH)
     An object discovered by Spacewatch (discovery observation
tabulated below), and posted on the Minor Planet Center's 'NEOCP'
webpage, has been found to show cometary appearance on CCD images
taken by M. Tichy and J. Ticha (Klet 1.06-m reflector; Feb. 18.95
UT; object diffuse with coma diameter 12" and faint tail in p.a. 90
deg) and by L. Buzzi (Varese, Italy, 0.60-m f/4.64 reflector; Feb.
20.1; object clearly non-stellar; stacked images totalling 21 min
of exposure time show a compact coma almost 9" wide with an
extension 12" long in p.a. about 100 deg).

     2007 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Feb. 17.45924   12 24 27.87   - 0 21 57.1   20.1

The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic
orbital elements, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2007-D27.

     T = 2006 Nov. 25.670 TT          Peri. =  66.245
                                      Node  = 296.918   2000.0
     q = 1.26149 AU                   Incl. = 178.620

                      (C) Copyright 2007 CBAT
2007 February 20               (8809)            Daniel W. E. Green

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