Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams

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IAUC 8954: C/2008 L3; C/2008 A1

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IAUC number 

                                                  Circular No. 8954
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://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html  ISSN 0081-0304
Phone 617-495-7440/7244/7444 (for emergency use only)


COMET C/2008 L3 (HILL)
     R. E. Hill reports his discovery of another comet on CCD
images taken with the 0.68-m Catalina Schmidt telescope (discovery
observation tabulated below), the co-added images from the
discovery night showing a diffuse coma of diameter about 10"-12"
and a diffuse, fan-shaped tail 1'-2' long in p.a. 100 deg;
additional co-added images from June 14.2 UT show a poorly defined
diffuse nuclear region, a coma diameter of 8"-10", and a broad tail
fan about 2' long in p.a. 110 deg.  Following posting on the Minor
Planet Center's 'NEOCP' webpage, several other CCD astrometrists
have reported cometary appearance.  J. E. McGaha (Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.,
0.36-m reflector) writes that his stacked images from June 13.4 UT
show a round 20" coma without condensation and an apparent ill-
defined 45" elongation in p.a. 150 deg; his stacked images from
June 14.2 show a round 30" coma without condensation.  R. Ligustri
(Talmassons, Udine, Italy, 0.35-m reflector, June 13.9) notes that
stacked images show a 30" coma elongated in p.a. 119 deg.  M.
Pietschnig (Vienna, Austria, 0.35-m reflector, June 13.9) finds the
comet diffuse with a 10" coma, a bright knot 5" from the coma's
center in p.a. 117 deg, and a tail about 30" long in p.a. 120 deg.
G. Hug (Eskridge, KS, U.S.A., 0.7-m reflector, June 14.14-14.15)
detects a short, diffuse tail in p.a. about 100 deg.  P.
Birtwhistle (Great Shefford, Berkshire, England, 0.40-m reflector,
June 15.0) reports a diffuse, poorly condensed coma of diameter 10"
in poor seeing.

     2008 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     June 13.27522   13 50 13.13   +58 24 51.1   18.9

The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic
orbital elements, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2008-L56.

     T = 2008 Apr. 20.148 TT          Peri. = 100.558
                                      Node  =  23.885   2000.0
     q = 2.00238 AU                   Incl. = 100.404


COMET C/2008 A1 (McNAUGHT)
     Visual total-magnitude and coma-diameter estimates:  Apr. 11.96
UT, 12.2, 2' (M. Goiato, Aracatuba, Brazil, 22-cm reflector;
moonlight); 24.94, 11.6, 4' (Goiato); May 5.40, 11.8, 2' (D. A. J.
Seargent, Cowra, NSW, Australia, 25-cm reflector); 7.44, 11.4, 2'
(Seargent); 11.93, 10.8, 4' (Goiato; moonlight); 25.92, 10.3, 5'
(Goiato); June 6.92, 9.9, 5' (Goiato).

                      (C) Copyright 2008 CBAT
2008 June 15                   (8954)            Daniel W. E. Green

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