Electronic Telegram No. 3133
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 K8 (LEMMON)
     An apparently asteroidal object found on CCD images taken by A. Gibbs
in the course of the Mount Lemmon survey (discovery observations tabulated
below) has been found to show cometary appearance elsewhere.  Images taken by
R. Holmes (Ashmore, IL, USA; measured by L. Buzzi, H. Devore, S. Foglia, and
T. Vorobjov) with a 0.81-m f/4.0 astrograph on May 31.4 UT show the object
(which was near a bright star) to have a softened appearance with a round
coma up to 10" in size; follow-up stacked images taken by Holmes on June 2.3
(0.61-m f/4 astrograph) and June 2.4 (0.81-m f/4 astrograph) show an 8" coma.
H. Sato (Tokyo, Japan; remotely using a 0.43-m f/6.8 astrograph + f/4.5 focal
reducer at the RAS Observatory near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.; June 2.4) finds a
coma that was moderately condensed and 10" in diameter, with a total V-band
magnitude (as measured within a circular aperture of radius 5".7) of 19.2.

     2012 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     May  30.34595   20 44 43.22   + 1 30 00.8   19.5   Gibbs
          30.35252   20 44 43.04   + 1 30 02.6   19.1     "
          30.35890   20 44 42.93   + 1 30 04.2   19.2     "

The available astrometry, the following preliminary elliptical orbital
elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-L08.

     T = 2009 June 29.9003 TT         Peri. = 317.7098
     e = 0.329436                     Node  = 309.7883  2000.0
     q = 6.949408 AU                  Incl. =  98.3520
       a = 10.363527 AU    n = 0.0295422    P =  33.36 years


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 June 2                      (CBET 3133)              Daniel W. E. Green