Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
IAUC 5487: 1992d; N Cyg 1992
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Circular No. 5487
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
COMET TANAKA-MACHHOLZ (1992d)
On Mar. 31 Don Machholz reported his discovery of a probable
comet, the slight change detected during his 35-min visual observation
indicating a daily motion of up to perhaps 1 deg. This suggested
possible identity with a cometary object reported by Zenichi Tanaka
to the Japanese National Astronomical Observatory, this report having been
forwarded by S. Nakano to the Central Bureau on Mar. 27; confusion arose
because Tanaka's 4-min exposure was said to indicate a daily motion of
more than 4 deg (in p.a. 20 or 200 deg), although it now appears that
Tanaka had first detected the comet visually 25 min earlier and that
there was no obvious motion. A. Hale's Apr. 1 observation confirms the
Machholz discovery, and a parabolic perihelion orbit fitted to the
approximate Mar. 31 and Apr. 1 positions satisfies the Mar. 24 Tanaka
position within 0.6 deg.
1992 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. m1 Observer
Mar. 24.823 21 54.8 +12 55 10 Tanaka
31.505 22 09.5 +18 43 9.4 Machholz
Apr. 1.473 22 11.4 +19 33 9.6 Hale
Z. Tanaka (Yodoe, Tottori). 0.2-m reflector. Very faint,
unmeasurable image on exposure in twilight. Coma diameter 2'.
D. Machholz (Colfax, CA). 0.12-m refractor. Object diffuse with
some condensation, no tail. Coma diameter 2'.
A. Hale (Las Cruces, NM). 0.41-m reflector. Diffuse, somewhat condensed.
NOVA CYGNI 1992
K. Kasturirangan, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, reports the
following magnitudes and colors (with probable errors), obtained by
B. N. Ashoka and K. R. N. Kutty using a 0.35-m reflector and photon-
counting system: Mar. 7.99 UT, V = 5.90 +/- 0.02, B-V = +0.32 +/- 0.01,
U-B = -0.41 +/- 0.01; 8.99, 6.08 +/- 0.01, +0.35 +/- 0.01, -0.40 +/-
0.03; 9.99, 6.37 +/- 0.01, +0.33 +/- 0.01, -0.32 +/- 0.03; 12.99, 6.18
+/- 0.01, +0.40 +/- 0.01, -0.37 +/- 0.02; 16.99, 6.50 +/- 0.01, +0.28
+/- 0.03, -0.40 +/- 0.02; 17.99, 6.53 +/- 0.01, +0.30 +/- 0.01, -0.40
+/- 0.01; 18.99, 6.73 +/- 0.01, +0.27 +/- 0.01, -0.42 +/- 0.02; 19.99,
6.84 +/- 0.02, +0.29 +/- 0.01, -0.43 +/- 0.01. HR 7876 and HR 7854 were
used as comparison and check stars, respectively.
1992 April 1 (5487) Brian G. Marsden
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