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IAUC 5744: 1993e

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                                                  Circular No. 5744
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)


COMET SHOEMAKER-LEVY (1993e)
     Further selected precise positions:

     1993 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.        m1    Observer
     Mar. 15.57153   12 30 52.17   - 4 28 12.3   16.0   Endate
          15.58611   12 30 51.73   - 4 28 09.7            "
          26.23333   12 25 43.71   - 3 58 04.9   15     Naranjo
          28.24097   12 24 44.97   - 3 52 16.3            "
          28.25677   12 24 44.36   - 3 52 13.4          Tatum
          29.53692   12 24 06.74   - 3 48 25.0          Urata
          29.70046   12 24 01.71   - 3 47 56.4            "
     Apr.  1.88329   12 22 28.62   - 3 38 37.4   13.1   Meyer
           1.88656   12 22 28.71   - 3 38 36.6   13.8     "

K. Endate (Kitami).  0.25-m f/2.6 Schmidt camera.  Measurer K.
   Watanabe.  Prediscovery observations.
O. Naranjo (Merida).  1.0-m Schmidt.  Independent discovery.
J. B. Tatum and D. D. Balam (Victoria).  0.25-m Schmidt.
T. Urata (Oohira).  0.25-m f/3.4 hyperboloid astrocamera + CCD.
E. Meyer and H. Raab (Linz).  0.3-m f/5.2 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD.

     Attempts at orbit determination from the Mar. 15-Apr. 1 arc
suggest that a parabolic solution is no longer viable, but the
likely location of the object near the surface of Jupiter's sphere
of influence--not to mention the near impossibility of measuring
the object's center of mass--continues to make the unequivocal
determination of an elliptical orbit extremely difficult.  A very
close encounter with Jupiter during 1992 continues to be a distinct
possibility, the most viable such solutions having still smaller
orbital eccentricities than in the example on IAUC 5726 and the
Jupiter encounter earlier in the year.  The orbit below puts the
object 0.007 AU from Jupiter on 1992 May 16 (tidal breakup
presumably requiring an approach to 0.001 AU) and indicates
that the object is at least temporarily in orbit about Jupiter and
currently near apojove at a distance of 0.31 AU.

                    Epoch = 1993 Apr. 3.0 TT
     T = 1997 Sept. 4.494 TT          Peri. = 348.427
     e = 0.07169                      Node  = 343.394   2000.0
     q = 4.71659 AU                   Incl. =   2.206
       a =  5.08085 AU     n = 0.086060     P =  11.45 years


1993 April 3                   (5744)              Brian G. Marsden

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