Electronic Telegram No. 3216
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 Q1 (KOWALSKI)
     [Editor's note:  this replaces the text on CBET 3215 (name in title)]
     R. A. Kowalski reports his discovery of a comet on images taken with the
Mount Lemmon 1.5-m reflector (discovery observations tabulated below), with
four 60-s confirming exposures showing a faint, round coma extending from a
slightly diffuse nuclear condensation approximately 20" in diameter.  After
being posted on the Minor Planet Center's NEOCP webpage, other cometary
astrometrists have also commented on the object's cometary appearance. Images
taken by R. Holmes (Ashmore, IL, USA; 0.61-m f/4 astrograph; measurers S.
Foglia, L. Buzzi, and T. Vorobjov) without moonlight on Sept. 4.1 UT show a
round coma at least 8" wide.  Images taken by P. Miller, P. Roche, A. Tripp,
R. Miles, R. Holmes, S. Foglia, and L. Buzzi (measured by L. Buzzi, S. Foglia,
and T. Vorobjov) with the 2.0-m f/10 "Faulkes Telescope South" reflector at
Siding Spring on Sept. 4.5 shows the comet to be clearly softer than stars
nearby, with a round coma 5" wide.

     2012 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Aug. 28.19554   22 13 01.23   +15 29 18.4   18.7
          28.20485   22 13 01.12   +15 29 16.6   19.0
          28.21411   22 13 01.02   +15 29 15.0   18.8
          28.22340   22 13 00.84   +15 29 13.1   19.1
          28.27486   22 13 00.04   +15 29 02.9   18.6
          28.28495   22 12 59.90   +15 29 01.6   18.9
          28.29508   22 12 59.76   +15 28 59.1   18.9
          28.30524   22 12 59.58   +15 28 56.8   18.6

The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital
elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-R08.

     T = 2015 Nov. 28.0762 TT         Peri. = 209.3612
                                      Node  = 174.2854  2000.0
     q = 8.582941 AU                  Incl. =  60.3588


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 September 4                 (CBET 3216)              Daniel W. E. Green