Electronic Telegram No. 3127
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
CBAT Director:  Daniel W. E. Green; Hoffman Lab 209; Harvard University;
 20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA  02138; U.S.A.
e-mail:  cbatiau@eps.harvard.edu (alternate cbat@iau.org)
URL http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/index.html
Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network


COMET C/2012 K5 (LINEAR)
     An apparently asteroidal object discovered by the LINEAR survey
(discovery observations tabulated below) and posted on the Minor Planet
Center's NEOCP webpage, has been found by other CCD astrometrists to show
cometary appearance.  H. Sato (Tokyo, Japan; remotely with a 0.51-m f/6.8
astrograph + f/4.5 focal reducer at the RAS Observatory, ITelescope network,
near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.; May 26.42 UT) found a round 16" coma of total V-band
magnitude 17.8 in a circular aperture of radius 8".2 in six stacked 60-s
exposures.  E. Bryssinck (Kruibeke, Belgium, 0.4-m f/3.8 astrograph + R-band
filter; May 27.0) found a condensed central condensation with a coma of
diameter about 14" and a tail nearly 13" long elongated toward the southwest
(p.a. 232 deg), adding that it was difficult to separate the tail from the
coma in a crowded star field.  Seventy-five co-added red exposures taken by
P. Bacci (Peccioli, Italy; 0.5-m f/10 Ritchey-Chretien telescope; May 27.0)
finds a diffuse coma of diameter 13".0, elongated with a 10" tail in p.a. 130
deg.  P. Birtwhistle (Great Shefford, Berkshire, England; 0.40-m f/6.0
Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector, May 27.1) finds a clearly diffuse coma of
diameter 8" and red mag 17.2 with a tail at least 25" long in p.a. 215 deg.
Images taken by C. Jacques and E. Pimentel (remotely with a 0.43-m f/4.5
astrograph at the RAS Observatory near Mayhill; May 27.2) show a coma
diameter of 6" and a short tail 12" long in p.a. 233 deg in ten 60-s stacked
images.  G. Hug (Scranton, KS, U.S.A.; 0.56-m reflector; May 27.34) notes a
nebulous extension about 20"-30" long in p.a. about 230 deg in a crowded star
field.  Forty-four stacked 30-s exposures taken by R. Holmes (Ashmore, IL,
USA; 0.81-m f/4 astrograph; measured by T. Vorobjov, L. Buzzi, and S. Foglia;
May 27.34-27.36) show a 10" coma and a tail 15" long in p.a. 210 deg.  E.
Guido, G. Sostero, and N. Howes (0.43-m f/6.8 astrograph + R-band filter,
remotely from the RAS Observatory, ITelescope network near Mayhill, NM; May
27.4) report that eight 120-s exposures show a 10" coma and a tail nearly 20"
long in p.a. 210 deg.

     2012 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     May  25.32609   19 20 24.38   +26 51 09.7   18.5   LINEAR
          25.33689   19 20 23.69   +26 51 27.4   18.7     "
          25.34767   19 20 22.93   +26 51 46.5   18.9     "
          25.35864   19 20 22.18   +26 52 03.3   18.5     "

The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital
elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-K69.

     T = 2012 Nov. 29.0439 TT         Peri. = 138.8046
                                      Node  = 279.0618  2000.0
     q = 1.154235 AU                  Incl. =  92.8495


NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes
      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 May 28                      (CBET 3127)              Daniel W. E. Green