Electronic Telegram No. 2999
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/2012 B1 (PANSTARRS)
     Richard Wainscoat, Henry Hsieh, Bryce Bolin, and Larry Denneau, Institute
for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, report the discovery of a comet in r- and
i-band exposures taken with the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope at Haleakala (discovery
observations tabulated below), the object showing a soft nuclear condensation
with a distinct tail that extends at least 10" from the nuclear condensation
in p.a. approximately 280 degrees.  Four 90-s exposures taken by Marco Micheli
and Richard Wainscoat on Jan. 26 UT with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
(queue observer Adam Draginda) show the object to be clearly extended with a
tail extending slightly north of west; a stacked image shows the obvious tail
extending for approximately 18" in p.a. 280 degrees.  After posting on the
Minor Planet Center's NEOCP webpage, other CCD astrometrists have commented on
the object's cometary appearance.  T. H. Bressi (Spacewatch 1.8-m f/2.7
reflector + broadband Schott OG-515 filter; Jan. 26.3) finds a tail about 13"
long in p.a. about 260 deg.  T. Lister (2.0-m f/10 Ritchey-Chretien "Faulkes
Telescope North" at Haleakala; Jan. 26.4) notes a fuzzy appearance and a
possible tail about 10" long in p.a. about 290 deg.

     2012 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Jan. 25.52300    8 45 16.02   +27 58 26.2   19.7
          25.53506    8 45 15.57   +27 58 27.8   19.8
          25.54851    8 45 15.10   +27 58 29.7   19.6
          25.56108    8 45 14.64   +27 58 31.5   19.7

The available astrometry (including prediscovery observations obtained at
Konkoly Observatory on 2011 Dec. 31.9), the following elliptical orbital
elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-B66.

     T = 2013 July 10.2586 TT         Peri. = 161.9923
     e = 0.423066                     Node  =  35.7403  2000.0
     q = 3.795821 AU                  Incl. =   7.6163
       a =  6.579304 AU    n = 0.0584029    P =  16.88 years


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 January 27                  (CBET 2999)              Daniel W. E. Green