Electronic Telegram No. 4044
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/2015 A2 (PANSTARRS)
     R. Weryk and R. Wainscoat, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii,
report the discovery of a comet in three w-band CCD exposures taken with the
1.8-m Pan-STARRS1 telescope at Haleakala on Jan. 12 (discovery observations
tabulated below); the object shows a low surface brightness, but the FWHM of
the object's image is in excess of 2".0 (with the FWHM of adjacent stars
being 1".4), and there is evidence of a faint tail extending towards the
northeast.  Additional Pan-STARRS1 observations on Jan. 14.22-14.26 UT show
a similar appearance, again with evidence of a faint tail extending towards
the northeast having a length of approximately 3".0.

     2015 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Jan. 12.25199    4 35 38.30   +14 40 09.1   21.1
          12.26397    4 35 37.75   +14 40 03.3   21.3
          12.27564    4 35 37.22   +14 39 58.6   21.3

After the object was posted on the Minor Planet Center's PCCP webpage, W. H.
Ryan obtained R-band CCD images on Jan. 16.2 with the Magdalena Ridge
Observatory 2.4-m f/8.9 reflector that show the object to be diffuse (magnitude
as bright as 20.3) with a faint tail toward p.a. about 45 deg.

The available astrometry, the following parabolic orbital elements by G. V.
Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2015-B12.

     T = 2015 Aug.  7.7441 TT         Peri. = 209.5437
                                      Node  = 258.4976  2000.0
     q = 5.325830 AU                  Incl. = 109.0960


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2015 CBAT
2015 January 17                  (CBET 4044)              Daniel W. E. Green