Electronic Telegram No. 4040
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 XB_8 (PANSTARRS)
     M. Micheli and E. Schunova report that an apparently asteroidal object
discovered with the 1.8-m Pan-STARRS1 telescope at Haleakala on Dec. 15
(discovery observations tabulated below), and given the minor-planet
designation 2014 XB_8 on MPS 553593, has been found to show a diffuse
appearance and an extended point-spread function (FWHM approximately 1".2 in
1".05 seeing), the coma being slightly asymmetric with an extension of about
3" toward p.a. 70 deg from the nuclear condensation in three 300-s CCD
exposures obtained by Schunova with the University of Hawaii 2.2-m telescope
on Dec. 16.3 UT.

     2014 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Dec. 15.37230    4 28 30.92   - 3 18 52.0   20.4
          15.38457    4 28 28.74   - 3 18 49.3   20.5
          15.39685    4 28 26.58   - 3 18 45.8   20.7
          15.40910    4 28 24.40   - 3 18 42.4   20.3

The available astrometry, the following parabolic orbital elements by G. V.
Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2014-Y87.

     T = 2015 Apr.  5.2320 TT         Peri. = 351.3365
                                      Node  =  37.4478  2000.0
     q = 3.012030 AU                  Incl. = 149.7911


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2014 CBAT
2014 December 30                 (CBET 4040)              Daniel W. E. Green