[Iaude] CBET 4548: 20180819 : COMET P/2018 P3 (PANSTARRS)

[quai at eps.harvard.edu]

                                                  Electronic Telegram No. 4548
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Mailing address:  Hoffman Lab 209; Harvard University;
 20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA  02138; U.S.A.
e-mail:  cbatiau at eps.harvard.edu (alternate cbat at iau.org)
URL http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/index.html
Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network


COMET P/2018 P3 (PANSTARRS)
     R. Weryk, R. Wainscoat, and Y. Ramanjooloo report the discovery of
another comet in four 45-s w-band CCD exposures taken with the 1.8-m
Pan-STARRS1 Ritchey-Chretien telescope at Haleakala taken on Aug. 8 UT
(discovery observations tabulated below); the comet's head showed a full-
width-at-half-maximum of about 1".3 in seeing of about 1".05, and there is
a tail about 6" long extending toward p.a. 255 degrees.

     2018 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Aug.  8.54438    0 14 07.67   -17 14 22.5   21.0
           8.55556    0 14 07.99   -17 14 24.6   20.9
           8.56676    0 14 08.31   -17 14 26.7   20.8
           8.57793    0 14 08.63   -17 14 28.8   20.8

Wainscoat adds that three 40-s w-band follow-up exposures were taken by D.
Woodworth on Aug. 10.55 that show FWHM = 1".05 in 0".75 seeing, and it
displayed a broad, low-surface-brightness tail extending slightly south of
west for approximately 10"; M. Micheli assisted in the measuring.
     The available astrometry, the following preliminary elliptical orbital
elements (from 22 observations spanning Aug. 8-17) by G. V. Williams, and
an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2018-Q34.

                    Epoch = 2018 Oct.  9.0 TT
     T = 2018 Oct.  9.1734 TT         Peri. = 305.6422
     e = 0.416964                     Node  =  59.2974  2000.0
     q = 1.758413 AU                  Incl. =   8.9152
       a =  3.015962 AU    n = 0.1881764    P =   5.24 years


NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes
      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2018 CBAT
2018 August 19                   (CBET 4548)              Daniel W. E. Green