Electronic Telegram No. 3137
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 L3 (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 to show cometary appearance by other
CCD astrometrists.  L. Elenin (Lyubertsy, Russia) writes that three stacked
sets of images (each composed of thirty 60-s exposures) obtained remotely
with a 0.45-m f/2.8 telescope at the ISON-NM Observatory near Mayhill, NM,
USA, on June 11.32 UT shows a round, diffuse coma (FWHM about 11") and a
broad, short tail about 25" long in p.a. 180 deg.  E. Bryssinck (Kruibeke,
Belgium) reports that nine 120-s co-added images taken on June 11.4 with a
0.43-m f/6.8 astrograph (+ f/4.5 focal reducer) at the RAS Observatory near
Mayhill show a diffuse appearance with a clearly circular coma of size 11",
along with a suggestion of elongation to the south (p.a. 190 deg), but with
no clear tail visible.  Four stacked 60-s images taken by P. Miller, P. Roche,
A. Tripp, R. Miles, R. Holmes, S. Foglia, and L. Buzzi with the 2.0-m f/10
"Faulkes Telescope North" at Haleakala on June 11.4 show a strong central
condensation with a 5" coma elongated in p.a. around 220 deg.  Four stacked
60-s images acquired by T. Vorobjov with a 1.3-m f/13 Cassegrain refletor at
Kitt Peak on June 11.4 show a narrow 20"-long tail in p.a. 205 deg.

     2012 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     June 10.30718   20 31 47.62   +36 22 19.5   18.5   LINEAR
          10.32814   20 31 44.29   +36 22 24.5   19.0     "
          10.33836   20 31 42.81   +36 22 28.1   18.7     "
          10.34847   20 31 41.04   +36 22 31.1   18.8     "

The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital
elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-L27.

     T = 2012 Jan. 30.8840 TT         Peri. = 327.6806
                                      Node  =  53.5138  2000.0
     q = 0.274349 AU                  Incl. = 135.5587


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 June 11                     (CBET 3137)              Daniel W. E. Green