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IAUC 6771: P/1997 V1; C/1997 V2; Sats OF URANUS

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                                                  Circular No. 6771
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Mailstop 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions)
BMARSDEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or DGREEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science)
URL http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html
Phone 617-495-7244/7440/7444 (for emergency use only)


COMET P/1997 V1 (LARSEN)
     As was suggested on IAUC 6770, further observations indicate that this
comet is of short period.  Orbital elements (from observations extending to
Nov. 9) on MPEC 1997-V23 (also MPC 30846) have P = 10.8 years.


COMET C/1997 V2 (SOHO)
     C. St. Cyr, Naval Research Laboratory, on behalf of the SOHO-LASCO
Consortium (cf. IAUC 6685), reports that D. Lewis, University of Birmingham,
has discovered another comet in both C3 and C2 coronagraphic data.  The comet
was very faint in C3, but since it was visible in C2, the magnitude was
estimated at about 6.  There was likely a faint tail in some of the C2
images.  Measurements by Lewis, D. A. Biesecker and St. Cyr and reduced by
G. V. Williams are given in detail on MPEC 1997-V29; there is a particular
abundance of measurements because the LASCO instruments were in high-cadence
mode following a solar flare and proton event a week ago.  The orbit
computation on MPEC 1997-V29 by the undersigned is a full parabolic solution
that shows the comet's membership in the Kreutz sungrazing group.

                 1997 UT           R.A. (2000) Decl.
                 Nov.  8.578      14 41.9      -19 23


SATELLITES OF URANUS
     Further CCD observations (again restricted here to one per observer per
night) are given below for S/1997 U 1 and S/1997 U 2, respectively.  The
likely general correctness of the S/1997 U 2 orbit on IAUC 6765 continues
to be supported, but the S/1997 U 1 orbit is still pure speculation.

     1997 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Observer
     Oct. 30.84300   20 29 44.46   -19 42 10.5   Fitzsimmons

     Oct. 29.13938   20 29 12.34   -19 35 31.6   Offutt
          30.84300   20 29 18.35   -19 35 08.0   Fitzsimmons
     Nov.  5.13278   20 29 40.83   -19 33 40.4   Offutt
           8.13200   20 29 56.20   -19 32 42.8   Hergenrother
           9.15096   20 30 01.76   -19 32 21.0   Offutt

A. Fitzsimmons, M. E. Fletcher and M. J. Irwin, assisted by P. Sorenson
   and M. Asif (La Palma).  2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope.
W. Offutt (Cloudcroft).  0.6-m f/7 Ritchey-Chretien.
C. W. Hergenrother (Mt. Hopkins).  1.2-m f/8 reflector.

                      (C) Copyright 1997 CBAT
1997 November 14               (6771)              Brian G. Marsden

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