[Iaude] CBET 4783: COMET C/2020 K4
quai at eps.harvard.edu
quai at eps.harvard.edu
Mon May 25 01:23:17 EDT 2020
Electronic Telegram No. 4783
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 C/2020 K4 (PANSTARRS)
R. Weryk, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, reports the
discovery of another comet noticed first by R. Wainscoat in images obtained
with the Pan-STARRS1 1.8-m Ritchey-Chretien reflector at Haleakala on May 20
(with no tail, and the comet's head having a size of 2".4 (full-width-at-
half-maximum) in 1".5 seeing. Follow-up was done with the 3.6-m Canada-
France-Hawaii telescope at Mauna Kea by Wainscoat, C. Crowder, C. Wipper, T.
Burdullis, and S. Pruneton on four nights, via 40-s gri-band images on May 21
and 22, and 60-s gri-band images on May 23 and 24. The coma appears to be
not very active, but the comet exhibits a broad, diffuse dust tail toward the
southwest (listed as an extension on May 21, about 4" long on May 22, and
about 3" long on May 23); the CFHT images are less suggestive of much coma,
with the comet's head being only about 0".2-0".5 (FWHM) larger than the
images of nearby stars. The astrometry are provided below.
2020 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer
May 20.53404 19 54 05.85 -33 20 17.7 19.7 Pan-STARRS1
20.54395 19 54 02.84 -33 20 09.6 20.0 "
20.56375 19 53 56.78 -33 19 53.2 20.0 "
21.56414 19 48 52.17 -33 05 27.7 19.9 CFHT
21.56509 19 48 51.87 -33 05 26.7 19.9 "
21.56603 19 48 51.57 -33 05 25.8 20.2 "
21.56725 19 48 51.19 -33 05 24.7 20.1 "
22.58949 19 43 32.19 -32 49 32.8 20.3 "
22.59051 19 43 31.86 -32 49 31.8 20.2 "
22.59146 19 43 31.56 -32 49 30.8 20.4 "
23.59591 19 38 10.95 -32 32 45.8 20.0 "
23.59709 19 38 10.57 -32 32 44.5 20.2 "
23.59828 19 38 10.18 -32 32 43.3 20.2 "
24.58582 19 32 48.41 -32 15 04.9 20.5 "
24.58703 19 32 48.03 -32 15 03.6 20.1 "
24.58839 19 32 47.54 -32 15 02.0 20.3 "
24.58957 19 32 47.18 -32 15 00.7 20.7 "
24.59081 19 32 46.74 -32 14 59.3 19.8 "
24.59200 19 32 46.37 -32 14 58.0 20.6 "
24.59436 19 32 45.59 -32 14 55.4 20.1 "
The following preliminary parabolic orbital elements by the undersigned
are from the above 20 observations spanning May 20-24.
T = 2020 Mar. 8.8853 TT Peri. = 311.5219
Node = 264.1228 2000.0
q = 1.789562 AU Incl. = 126.2414
The following ephemeris by the undersigned, from the above very preliminary
orbital elements, uses photometric power-law parameters H = 17.0 and 2.5n = 8
for the magnitudes.
Date TT R. A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. Phase Mag.
2020 04 21 21 28.88 -36 16.7 1.783 1.873 79.0 31.8 20.4
2020 04 26 21 19.20 -36 00.5 1.687 1.892 85.3 32.0 20.4
2020 05 01 21 07.40 -35 43.3 1.591 1.914 92.1 31.7 20.3
2020 05 06 20 53.09 -35 22.4 1.497 1.937 99.4 30.9 20.2
2020 05 11 20 35.89 -34 54.2 1.407 1.962 107.4 29.4 20.1
2020 05 16 20 15.49 -34 13.5 1.325 1.989 116.1 27.2 20.0
2020 05 21 19 51.76 -33 13.7 1.252 2.017 125.6 24.1 19.9
2020 05 26 19 24.97 -31 47.7 1.194 2.046 135.9 20.2 19.9
2020 05 31 18 55.87 -29 50.0 1.153 2.077 146.9 15.5 19.8
2020 06 05 18 25.73 -27 19.4 1.132 2.109 158.4 10.2 19.9
2020 06 10 17 56.07 -24 21.4 1.135 2.142 170.2 4.6 19.9
2020 06 15 17 28.31 -21 07.7 1.161 2.176 177.4 1.2 20.0
2020 06 20 17 03.43 -17 51.9 1.210 2.212 166.7 6.1 20.2
2020 06 25 16 41.90 -14 46.4 1.280 2.248 156.2 10.5 20.4
2020 06 30 16 23.79 -11 59.1 1.367 2.285 146.5 14.2 20.5
2020 07 05 16 08.83 -09 33.2 1.468 2.323 137.6 17.2 20.8
2020 07 10 15 56.66 -07 29.1 1.581 2.361 129.5 19.4 21.0
NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes
superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.
(C) Copyright 2020 CBAT
2020 May 25 (CBET 4783) Daniel W. E. Green
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