Electronic Telegram No. 2459
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
CBAT Director:  Daniel W. E. Green; Hoffman Lab 209; Harvard University;
 20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA  02138; U.S.A.
e-mail:  cbatiau@eps.harvard.edu (alternate cbat@iau.org)
URL http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/index.html
Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network


COMET P/2010 R2 (LA SAGRA)
     J. Nomen, La Sagra Observatory, writes that careful examination of
an object detected there on Sept. 14.9 UT (0.45-m f/2.8 reflector, discovery
position below) shows some diffuse structure, an appearance confirmed on
Sept. 16.0 as a north-south elongation with some coma extending about 8" in
p.a. 185 deg.  Following a suggestion from the Minor Planet Center that the
same object had already been recorded at La Sagra on Aug. 13.0, he also
examined those images, but with no conclusive result about the appearance.
After announcement of the object on the NEOCP, P. Birtwhistle (Great Shefford,
Berkshire, England, 0.40-m f/6.0 Schmidt-Cassegrain) remarked that on
Sept. 17.0 the object had a strongly condensed coma of diameter 6" and a tail
6" wide and 11" long in p.a. 190 deg.  On Sept. 17.1 R. Holmes and
S. Foglia (Westfield, Illinois, 0.61-m f/4.5 astrograph) noted a 5" coma and
a 15" tail in p.a. 165 deg, and on Sept. 17.2 J. V. Scotti (Spacewatch
1.8-m reflector) described the object as of stellar appearance, with an
obvious tail to the south.

     2010 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Sept.14.86552   22 22 00.40   +25 30 48.6   18.4

     Further astrometry and the following orbit are given on MPEC 2010-S11.
The object appears to be another "main-belt comet", similar to 133P = (7968)
Elst-Pizarro.

     T = 2010 June 25.2933 TT         Peri. =  59.4209
     e = 0.153378                     Node  = 270.7793  2000.0
     q = 2.624779 AU                  Incl. =  21.4084
       a = 3.100294 AU     n = 0.1805509    P = 5.46 years



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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2010 CBAT
2010 September 17                (CBET 2459)              Brian G. Marsden