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IAUC 5730: 1993 FW; 1993e

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                                                  Circular No. 5730
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@CFA or GREEN@CFA (.SPAN, .BITNET or .HARVARD.EDU)


1993 FW
     J. Luu, University of California at Berkeley; and D. Jewitt,
University of Hawaii, report the discovery of a second very faint
object with very slow (3"/hr) retrograde opposition motion.  The
object was detected in CCD images obtained with the University of
Hawaii's 2.2-m telescope at Mauna Kea.  The object appears stellar
in 0".8 seeing, with an apparent Mould magnitude R = 22.8 +/- 0.1
measured in a 1".6-radius aperture.  The color V-R = +0.4 +/- 0.1.

     1993 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.
     Mar. 28.41684   12 27 06.31   - 3 00 12.7
          28.59830   12 27 05.52   - 3 00 07.0
          29.41934   12 27 01.90   - 2 59 42.2
          29.42846   12 27 01.85   - 2 59 41.8

     Computations by B. G. Marsden indicate that 1993 FW is currently
between 38 and 56 AU from the earth.  Similarity in motion and
brightness to 1992 QB1 suggests that 1993 FW is another Kuiper Belt
candidate, and the orbit selected below is again the direct circle.
The object's phase angle reached a minimum of 0.002 deg on Mar. 28.0 UT.

     Epoch = 1993 Mar. 14.0 TT     Arg.lat. = 359.468
                                      Node  = 187.896   2000.0
     a = 42.451 AU                    Incl. =   8.029

1993 TT     R. A. (2000) Decl.     Delta      r    Elong. Phase      V
Mar. 24    12 27.43    - 3 02.4   41.456   42.451  176.0    0.1     23.2
Apr.  3    12 26.70    - 2 57.4   41.457   42.451  174.0    0.1     23.2
     13    12 25.98    - 2 52.4   41.487   42.451  163.9    0.4     23.2
     23    12 25.30    - 2 47.7   41.545   42.451  154.0    0.6     23.2
May   3    12 24.70    - 2 43.5   41.631   42.451  144.1    0.8     23.3


COMET SHOEMAKER-LEVY (1993e)
     Luu and Jewitt also report that their CCD imaging of this comet
with the 2.2-m telescope at Mauna Kea on Mar. 27 showed as many as 17
separate sub-nuclei "strung out like pearls on a string" over a range
of 50" along p.a. 77-257 deg.  The brightest sub-nuclei were four or
five in from the southwestern end.  The appearance was unchanged on Mar. 28.


1993 March 29                  (5730)              Brian G. Marsden

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