Electronic Telegram No. 3230
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/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)
     N. Biver, D. Bockelee-Morvan, R. Moreno, and J. Crovisier, LESIA,
Observatoire de Paris; P. Hartogh and M. de Val Borro, Max-Planck-Institute
fuer Sonnensystemforschung; M. Kidger and M. Kueppers, European Space Agency;
S. Szutowicz, Space Research Center, Poland; D. C. Lis and G. A. Blake,
California Institute of Technology; and the team of the "Herschel Guaranteed
Time Key Program" called "Water and related chemistry of the Solar System"
report that the 1_(10)-1_(01) water line at 557 GHz was detected in comet
C/2011 L4 (cf. IAUC 9215) with the HIFI instrument aboard the Herschel
spacecraft on Sept. 6.4 UT.  The line width is 0.77 km/s, and the line area
of 0.077 +/- 0.004 K km/s (main-beam brightness temperature) corresponds to
a water-production rate of 5 x 10^(27) molecules/s.

     Visual total-magnitude and coma-diameter estimates:  July 12.94 UT, 11.3,
2'.5 (J. J. Gonzalez, Leon, Spain, 20-cm reflector); Aug. 8.49, 12.5, -- (D.
A. J. Seargent, Cowra, NSW, Australia, 25-cm reflector); 9.88, 9.8, 5'
(Gonzalez); 12.47, 11.8, 2' (D. A. J. Seargent, Cowra, NSW, Australia, 25-cm
reflector); 21.86, 9.5, 6' (Gonzalez); Sept. 11.42, 11.8, 1' (M. Mattiazzo,
Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia, 20-cm reflector).


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 September 15                (CBET 3230)              Daniel W. E. Green