Electronic Telegram No. 3408
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 LP_26 (PALOMAR)
     An apparently asteroidal object discovered in 60-s CCD images taken with
the 1.2-m f/2.44 Schmidt telescope at Palomar last June in the course of the
"Palomar Transient Factory" program (measurers A. Waszczak and E. O. Ofek;
discovery observations tabulated below, first published on MPS 453215 a few
days ago with the minor-planet designation 2012 LP_26) has been found to be
diffuse (magnitude 20.0-20.3) on CCD mosaic images taken by J. V. Scotti
(Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona) with the Kitt Peak
0.9-m f/3 reflector on 2013 Feb. 5.5 UT.  Scotti's follow-up observations
on Feb. 7.5 with the Spacewatch 1.8-m telescope show a diffuse coma of
diameter 6" and a faint tail extending 0'.16 in p.a. 285 degrees.

     2012 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     June 10.19446   15 10 04.64   + 9 44 33.0   20.8
          10.25350   15 10 03.89   + 9 44 32.0   20.9
          12.20276   15 09 39.85   + 9 43 44.7   20.7
          12.27449   15 09 38.94   + 9 43 42.8   20.9

The available astrometry (including prediscovery Mount Lemmon Survey
observations obtained by R. A. Kowalski on 2012 May 23), the following
hyperbolic orbital elements by G. V. Williams (from 23 observations spanning
2012 May 23-2013 Feb. 7; mean residual 0".3), and an ephemeris appear on
MPEC 2013-C31.

                    Epoch = 2015 Aug.  6.0 TT
     T = 2015 Aug. 16.3798 TT         Peri. = 145.1707
     e = 1.000038                     Node  = 153.9851  2000.0
     q = 6.534089 AU                  Incl. =  25.3796


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2013 CBAT
2013 February 7                  (CBET 3408)              Daniel W. E. Green