[Iaude] CBET 5403: COMET P/2024 K1

quai at eps.harvard.edu quai at eps.harvard.edu
Tue Jun 11 13:42:10 EDT 2024


                                                  Electronic Telegram No. 5403
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/2024 K1 (PANSTARRS)
     R. Weryk, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western
Ontario, reports the discovery of another comet in images obtained with the
Pan-STARRS1 1.8-m Ritchey-Chretien reflector at Haleakala (discovery
observations tabulated below).  Four 45-s w-band survey images taken in 1".3
seeing show a condensed coma of size 1".6 (full-width-at-half-maximum) but
no tail.

     2024 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     May  30.41847   16 20 39.04   -21 39 36.3   20.7
          30.42560   16 20 38.78   -21 39 35.3   21.0
          30.43272   16 20 38.55   -21 39 34.4   21.1
          30.44033   16 20 38.27   -21 39 33.7   21.3

Weryk reports that six 60-s gri-band poor-quality follow-up images were
obtained on May 31.5 UT with the 3.6-m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (aided
by R. Wainscoat, L. Wells, and T. Burdullis) show a slightly larger image
(1".8 FWHM) for the comet compared to stars.  Three additional 90-s CFHT
images were taken on June 1.4 that show this object to be definitely a comet;
the best image in 1".0 seeing shows a very condensed head of size 1".4 (FWHM)
with evidence of a broad-but-short tail 1" long spanning p.a. 240-340 deg.
     After the comet was posted on the Minor Planet Center's PCCP webpage,
H. Sato (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan) reported that twelve stacked 120-s CCD
exposures taken remotely on June 6.6 UT with a 0.51-m f/6.8 astrograph located
at Siding Spring, NSW, Australia, show a moderately condensed coma 8" in
diameter with no tail; the magnitude was 19.8 as measured within a circular
aperture of radius 4".3.
     The available astrometry appears on MPEC 2024-L114.  The following
preliminary orbital elements by S. Nakano (Central Bureau) are from 28
observations spanning May 30-June 10 (mean residual 0".2).  A parabolic orbit
shows a mean error of 1".0.  There appear to be no observations in archival
data, and there appear to be no close approaches to any major planets.

     T = 2024 May   9.99582 TT        Peri. = 352.11737
     e = 0.4956511                    Node  = 251.69581 2000.0
     q = 3.4539059 AU                 Incl. =   1.78348
       a =  6.8482478 AU   n = 0.05499648   P =  17.92 years

The following ephemeris by the undersigned from the above orbital elements
uses photometric power-law parameters H = 13.5 and 2.5n = 8 for the
magnitudes.

Date    TT    R. A. (2000) Decl.     Delta      r     Elong.  Phase  Mag.
2024 05 10    16 31.41   -22 13.4    2.488    3.454   159.9     5.8  19.8
2024 05 20    16 26.40   -21 57.9    2.452    3.455   170.8     2.7  19.8
2024 05 30    16 20.88   -21 40.3    2.443    3.456   178.3     0.5  19.7
2024 06 09    16 15.48   -21 22.2    2.461    3.459   167.5     3.7  19.8
2024 06 19    16 10.82   -21 05.4    2.507    3.464   156.8     6.6  19.8
2024 06 29    16 07.42   -20 51.6    2.576    3.469   146.4     9.3  19.9
2024 07 09    16 05.61   -20 42.2    2.668    3.476   136.4    11.6  20.0
2024 07 19    16 05.61   -20 38.1    2.778    3.484   126.9    13.5  20.1
2024 07 29    16 07.45   -20 39.4    2.902    3.493   117.8    14.9  20.2
2024 08 08    16 11.08   -20 45.6    3.038    3.503   109.1    15.9  20.3
2024 08 18    16 16.42   -20 56.2    3.183    3.514   100.7    16.4  20.4
2024 08 28    16 23.30   -21 10.0    3.332    3.527    92.7    16.6  20.5
2024 09 07    16 31.58   -21 26.0    3.484    3.541    85.0    16.5  20.6
2024 09 17    16 41.09   -21 42.8    3.635    3.555    77.5    16.0  20.7
2024 09 27    16 51.69   -21 59.5    3.784    3.571    70.2    15.3  20.8
2024 10 07    17 03.23   -22 15.0    3.929    3.588    63.0    14.4  20.9
2024 10 17    17 15.56   -22 28.2    4.067    3.606    56.0    13.2  21.0


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

                         (C) Copyright 2024 CBAT
2024 June 11                     (CBET 5403)              Daniel W. E. Green




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