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IAUC 5067: 1990 MB; 1990c

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                                                  Circular No. 5067
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Postal Address: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Telephone 617-495-7244/7440/7444 (for emergency use only)
TWX 710-320-6842 ASTROGRAM CAM     EASYLINK 62794505
MARSDEN or GREEN@CFA.BITNET    MARSDEN or GREEN@CFAPS2.SPAN


1990 MB
     Several contributors, initially E. Bowell, Lowell Observatory,
have remarked on the possibility that this object might be a "Mars
Trojan"--the first of its kind.  Further astrometric and physical
observations of it would therefore be particularly desirable.  The
orbit below, from MPC 16700, is still based on only a 24-day arc.
Numerical integration of this orbit over an interval of 60 000 days
shows the distance between 1990 MB and Mars to vary over a range of
0.3 AU during each revolution period P.  There is essentially a secular
(long period?) trend to the distances, however, diminishing from
1.9-2.2 AU around 1860 to 1.2-1.5 AU around 2020.  Minimum distances
from the earth, Venus and Jupiter are rather consistently 0.5, 0.8
and 3.5 AU, respectively.

     T = 1990 Oct. 29.2403 ET         Peri. =  95.4805
     e = 0.065461                     Node  = 244.4378  1950.0
     q = 1.422997 AU                  Incl. =  20.2267
       a =  1.522672 AU    n = 0.5245594    P =   1.879 years

     1990 ET      R.A. (1950) Decl.     Delta      r        V
     July 28    16 35.65    + 7 08.4    0.681    1.461    17.3
     Aug.  7    16 42.55    + 7 23.9
          17    16 53.14    + 7 09.2    0.802    1.447    17.8
          27    17 06.93    + 6 34.6
     Sept. 6    17 23.50    + 5 48.6    0.921    1.436    18.1
          16    17 42.43    + 4 57.5
          26    18 03.50    + 4 06.0    1.034    1.428    18.4
     Oct.  6    18 26.44    + 3 18.8
          16    18 51.00    + 2 38.9    1.144    1.424    18.6
          26    19 16.99    + 2 09.5
     Nov.  5    19 44.18    + 1 52.6    1.253    1.423    18.7
          15    20 12.32    + 1 49.7
          25    20 41.21    + 2 01.7    1.367    1.426    18.9


COMET LEVY (1990c)
     Total visual magnitudes: July 24.90 UT, 6.5 (A. Pearce,
Scarborough, Western Australia, 20 x 80 binoculars; 25.30, 6.8
(J. V. Scotti, Tucson, AZ, 10 x 50 binoculars); 26.30, 6.6 (J. E.
Bortle, Stormville, NY, 10 x 50 binoculars); 27.31, 6.3
(Scotti); 27.85, 6.3 (Pearce; 0.75-deg tail in p.a. 231 deg).


1990 July 28                   (5067)              Brian G. Marsden

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