Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams

IAUC 8865: P/2007 Q2; C/2007 Q3

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                                                  Circular No. 8865
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)
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Phone 617-495-7440/7244/7444 (for emergency use only)


COMET P/2007 Q2 (GILMORE)
     An apparently asteroidal object discovered by Alan C. Gilmore
on CCD images taken with the Mount John University Observatory 1-m
reflector (discovery observation tabulated below), and posted on
the 'NEOCP' webpage, has been found to show a diffuse coma and a
tail 6"-8" long in p.a. 320 deg on a co-added 600-s image obtained
by K. Sarneczky and L. L. Kiss on Aug. 30.6 UT with the Siding
Spring 1.0-m reflector.  Also, Q.-z. Ye, Guangzhou, China, writes
that four stacked 120-s CCD images obtained by C.-S. Lin with the
Lulin Observatory 1.02-m f/8 reflector on Aug. 27.7 UT in strong
moonlight (seeing about 1".0) show a possible weak coma of diameter
about 1".9 with a wide, short tail about 3" long in p.a. about
340-10 deg.

     2007 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Aug. 22.58265   22 44 16.31   - 0 46 07.9   19.1

The available astrometry, the following preliminary elliptical
orbital elements, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2007-Q43.

     T = 2007 Aug. 23.465 TT          Peri. = 162.931
     e = 0.67176                      Node  = 172.256   2000.0
     q = 1.83906 AU                   Incl. =  10.235
       a =  5.60282 AU     n = 0.074318     P =  13.26 years


COMET C/2007 Q3 (SIDING SPRING)
     An apparently asteroidal object discovered by D. M. Burton
with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt telescope in the course of the
Siding Spring survey (discovery observation tabulated below), and
posted on the 'NEOCP' webpage, has also been found to show cometary
appearance by Sarneczky and Kiss, who on Aug. 30.8 UT found a 6"
coma and 12"-long tail in p.a. 290 deg on a 1800-s co-added image
taken with the 1.0-m reflector at Siding Spring.  Also, N. Teamo
and J. C. Pelle write that CCD exposures taken on Aug. 29.6 with a
0.35-m reflector at Punaauia, Tahiti, show the comet's FWHM image
to be larger than those of neighboring stars of similar brightness.

     2007 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Aug. 25.76023    3 28 35.22   -46 39 40.7   17.8

The available astrometry, preliminary parabolic orbital elements (T
= 2009 Oct. 19.198 TT, q = 2.31933 AU, Peri. = 0.675, Node =
151.078, i = 66.275, equinox 2000.0), and an ephemeris appear on
MPEC 2007-Q44.

                      (C) Copyright 2007 CBAT
2007 August 30                 (8865)            Daniel W. E. Green

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