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IAUC 3162: 1977t; 1978a

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                                                  Circular No. 3162
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Postal Address: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Cable Address: SATELLITES, NEWYORK     Telex: 921428
Telephone: (617) 864-5758


COMET LOVAS (1977t)
     The following approximate positions have been reported:

     1977 UT          R. A. (1950) Decl.     m1     Observer
     Jan.  2.91655    5 37.5     +81 30     16      Lovas
           5.10868    5 29.0     +81 28     16        "
          16.27101    5 02.1     +80 20     18      Shao
          16.39019    5 02.0     +80 19               "

M. Lovas (Konkoly Observatory).  60-cm f/3 Schmidt telescope.
   Object diffuse, with condensation.  Communicated by B. Szeidl.
C.-Y. Shao and G. Schwartz (Harvard College Observatory, Agassiz
   Station).  155-cm reflector.  Stellar appearance.


COMET WEST (1978a)
     Richard M. West, European Southern Observatory, reports that
he has discovered a comet on plates taken by G. Pizarro with the
100-cm Schmidt telescope at La Silla.  The 40-min blue exposure on
Jan. 13.3 UT shows a fanshaped tail extending 6' between south and
south-southwest.  Shorter exposures on Jan. 15.3 and 16.3 show a 10'
tail southward.  A spectrogram (range 3600-7200 A, dispersion 110
A/mm, 1".5 slit oriented east-west) obtained with the 360-cm reflector
on Jan. 15.3 shows a strong, 6"-wide solar-reflection spectrum
with diffuse edges.  Among the weak emission features the C2 4737 A
band is certainly present, and C3 4050 A is possibly present, but
CN 3883 A is completely absent; a rather strong unidentified emission
is apparently present around 4990 A; the spectrum of a magnitude
18.5 star is weakly recorded next to that of the comet, and
the background shows a typical dawn-sky spectrum.  Semiaccurate
measurements (to +/- 5") by West are as follows:

     1978 UT             R. A. (1950) Decl.         m1
     Jan. 12.35416    14 30 34.4    -13 36 46      17
          13.34762    14 30 42.7    -13 31 46
          15.34042    14 30 57.6    -13 21 59
          16.34393    14 31 04.3    -13 16 42


1978 January 16                (3162)              Brian G. Marsden

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