Electronic Telegram No. 4233
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Mailing address:  Hoffman Lab 209; Harvard University;
 20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA  02138; U.S.A.
e-mail:  cbatiau@eps.harvard.edu (alternate cbat@iau.org)
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Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network


COMET P/2016 A2 (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 diffuse object displaying a coma of diameter approximately 8" with
a short tail extending approximately 10" toward p.a. 300 deg.  Four 60-s
follow-up exposures taken on Jan. 3.34-3.35 UT show a similar appearance,
with a coma diameter of approximately 10", extended to the west-northwest.

     2016 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     Jan.  2.47673    7 20 02.76   +26 06 10.3   19.6   Christensen
           2.48236    7 20 02.38   +26 06 09.4   19.3     "
           2.48799    7 20 02.14   +26 06 07.5   19.6     "
           2.49362    7 20 01.81   +26 06 06.1   19.6     "
           2.53826    7 19 59.46   +26 05 54.0   19.4     "
           2.54010    7 19 59.33   +26 05 53.6            "
           2.54193    7 19 59.22   +26 05 53.0            "
           2.54377    7 19 59.12   +26 05 52.4            "

     The available astrometry (spanning Jan. 2-7), the following preliminary
elliptical orbital elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC
2016-A63.

     T = 2015 Mar. 13.6675 TT         Peri. = 130.2307
     e = 0.244784                     Node  = 290.8555  2000.0
     q = 3.670402 AU                  Incl. =  32.4538
       a =  4.860067 AU    n = 0.0919900    P =  10.7 years


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2016 CBAT
2016 January 7                   (CBET 4233)              Daniel W. E. Green