Electronic Telegram No. 2072 Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION M.S. 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 COMET P/2009 U6 = 1997 A2 = 2002 Q15 (LINEAR) S. Nakano, Sumoto, Japan, has identified observations of comet P/2009 U6 (cf. IAUC 9090, 9092) among single-night data from NEAT at the two preceding apparitions: 1997 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer Jan. 11.47268 09 43 20.27 +18 56 25.9 18.0 Haleakala-NEAT/GEODSS 2002 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer Aug. 20.31992 22 43 40.76 -22 43 16.9 18.0 Palomar Mountain/NEAT Sept. 9.32374 22 27 01.88 -26 30 17.8 17.8 " R. Matson, Irvine, CA, independently located the images corresponding to the above observations (now given the designations P/1997 A2 and P/2002 Q15) and provided measurements from them, together with measurements from NEAT images on 1997 Jan. 10 and on five further nights during 2002 July 24-Sept. 16. The comet's approach to a distance of 0.88 AU from Jupiter in Sept. 2007 means that the orbital period, currently 6.27 years, was previously 6.48-6.49 years, with the comet's previous two perihelion passages occurring on 2003 Mar. 3 and 1996 Sept. 4. Further details are given on MPEC 2009-X47. NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars. (C) Copyright 2009 CBAT 2009 December 12 (CBET 2072) Brian G. Marsden