Electronic Telegram No. 3521
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 P/2013 J4 (PANSTARRS)
     Richard Wainscoat and Larry Denneau, Institute for Astronomy, University
of Hawaii, reported the discovery of an apparent comet, being slightly extended
compared to adjacent stars in w-band images taken with the 1.8-m Pan-STARRS1
telescope on Haleakala (discovery positions tabulated below).  Marco Micheli
writes that he and Wainscoat obtained a set of follow-up images of the object
with the 3.6-m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) on Mauna Kea around May
11.25 UT (queue observer David Woodworth); seven stacked 60-s r-band exposures
show a subtle 2" tail in p.a. about 95 deg with a tiny coma.  Micheli adds that
previous images obtained on May 7 also with the CFHT (queue observer Lisa
Wells) also showed evidence of a similar tail structure in a consistent
direction.

     2013 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     May   5.25719    7 21 58.42   +25 33 26.4   21.0
           5.26248    7 21 58.99   +25 33 25.5   21.0
           5.26784    7 21 59.58   +25 33 24.3   21.0
           5.27313    7 22 00.14   +25 33 23.1   21.0

The available astrometry, the following preliminary elliptical orbital
elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2013-J51.

     T = 2013 July 24.8517 TT         Peri. =  81.5873
     e = 0.646077                     Node  =  77.6293  2000.0
     q = 2.287672 AU                  Incl. =   4.7614
       a =  6.463758 AU    n = 0.0599759    P =  16.4 years


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2013 CBAT
2013 May 13                      (CBET 3521)              Daniel W. E. Green