Electronic Telegram No. 4027
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/2014 W7 (CHRISTENSEN)
     E. J. Christensen reports his discovery of a comet on CCD images taken
with the Mount Lemmon 1.5-m reflector (discovery observations tabulated
below), the object displaying a very slightly diffuse aspect, with a coma
about 3" in size and a hint of an extension to the northwest, as seen in four
30-s survey images; four 45-s confirming exposures taken in twilight confirm
the slightly diffuse nature (especially toward the northwest) on Nov. 22.54.
Four follow-up 60-s exposures taken by Christensen on Nov. 24.5 show the
comet to be diffuse and slightly elongated toward the west, with a coma
diameter of approximately 6" that is notably softer than field stars of
similar magnitude.

     2014 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     Nov. 22.51937   12 16 22.83   + 3 01 40.0   19.2   Christensen
          22.52413   12 16 23.39   + 3 01 47.2   19.6     "
          22.52889   12 16 23.96   + 3 01 54.3   19.5     "
          22.53366   12 16 24.51   + 3 02 01.6   19.7     "

After the object was posted on the Minor Planet Center's PCCP webpage, H.
Sato, Tokyo, Japan, found that eleven stacked 60-s exposures taken with an
0.51-m f/6.8 astrograph (+ luminance filter) on Nov. 23.5 show a moderately
condensed round coma 10" in diameter (w-band magnitude 19.3, as measured
within a circular aperture of radius 6".5), with no tail.
     The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital
elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2014-W116.

     T = 2014 Dec. 31.9915 TT         Peri. =  33.7892
                                      Node  = 151.9407  2000.0
     q = 1.507318 AU                  Incl. =  98.2127


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2014 CBAT
2014 November 27                 (CBET 4027)              Daniel W. E. Green