Electronic Telegram No. 4089
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/2014 M6 = P/1994 N2 (McNAUGHT-HARTLEY)
     A possible new comet with a faint tail towards the west-southwest, found
on w-band images taken by P. Balanutsa et al. (measured by A. Tlatov et al.)
with the MASTER (Mobile Astronomical System of the Telescope-Robots) 0.4-m
f/2.5 reflector at the South African Astronomical Observatory on 2015 Mar. 31,
was reported to the Minor Planet Center (astrometry tabulated below).

     2015 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Mar. 31.07171   20 57 10.24   -33 27 52.7   18.2
          31.08034   20 57 11.18   -33 27 51.8   18.5
          31.08898   20 57 12.01   -33 27 51.0   18.0

G. V. Williams linked these observations and others obtained with the 1.8-m
Pan-STARRS1 telescope at Haleakala on 2014 June 29 (tabulated below) to
comet P/1994 N2 (= 1994n = 1994 XXXI; cf. IAUCs 6014, 6037).  Subsequently,
D. V. Denisenko (Sternberg Astronomical Institute) also reported that the
MASTER object was perhaps the recovery of P/1994 N2, some 25' from the
prediction.

     2014 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     June 29.32193   15 44 58.07   -32 28 18.5   21.0
          29.33211   15 44 57.74   -32 28 17.7   21.0
          29.34226   15 44 57.42   -32 28 17.1   21.0
          29.35242   15 44 57.08   -32 28 16.1   21.0

The indicated correction to the prediction or P/1994 N2 by B. G. Marsden on
MPC 79351 is Delta(T) = -2.0 days.  The following orbital elements by
Williams (from 83 observations spanning 1994 July 6-2015 Mar. 31; mean
residual 0".7) and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2015-G06.

                    Epoch = 2015 Oct. 25.0 TT
     T = 2015 Oct. 22.47389 TT        Peri. = 313.22401
     e = 0.6742404                    Node  =  35.72497 2000.0
     q = 2.4482472 AU                 Incl. =  17.86844
       a =  7.5155032 AU   n = 0.04783734   P =  20.60 years


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2015 CBAT
2015 April 2                     (CBET 4089)              Daniel W. E. Green