Electronic Telegram No. 3289
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 V1 (PANSTARRS)
     Larry Denneau, Richard Wainscoat, and Henry Hsieh report their discovery
of a comet on four w-band 45-s exposures taken with the Pan-STARRS 1
telescope on Haleakala (discovery observations tabulated below); the object
is faint but has a diffuse, non-stellar appearance, with indication of an
extended point-spread function relative to nearby field stars.  After posting
on the Minor Planet Center's NEOCP webpage, other CCD astrometrists have also
commented on the object's cometary appearance.  S. Foglia reports that a
stack of thirty 60-s images taken by R. Holmes (Ashmore, IL, USA; 0.81-m f/4
astrograph) on Nov. 5.3 UT shows a coma elongated to the east-west of size
11" x 7".  Luca Buzzi reports that nine stacked 45-s images, taken on Nov.
5.5 with the 2.0-m f/10 "Faulkes Telescope North" at Haleakala by P. Miller,
P. Roche, A. Tripp, R. Miles, R. Holmes, S. Foglia, and himself in very good
seeing conditions, show a round, diffuse coma 4" wide.  L. Buzzi (Varese,
Italy; 0.38-m f/6.8 reflector) reports that stacked images taken on Nov. 6.1
show an 8" coma of red mag 18.2 that is possibly elongated to the southeast.

     2012 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Nov.  3.34067    2 26 07.60   +36 02 12.3   20.4
           3.35315    2 26 05.48   +36 02 07.1   20.3

The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital
elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-V40.

     T = 2013 July 21.3900 TT         Peri. = 124.2877
                                      Node  =  85.3643  2000.0
     q = 2.055863 AU                  Incl. = 157.8514


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 November 6                  (CBET 3289)              Michael Rudenko