Electronic Telegram No. 4284
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)
URL http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/index.html
Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network


COMET C/2016 K1 (LINEAR)
[Editor's note:  this text replaces that on CBET 4282 (date correction].
     An apparently asteroidal object found on CCD images taken on May 31
with the 3.5-m f/1 Space Surveillance Telescope on Atom Peak in the White
Sands Missile Range, NM, USA, in the course of the LINEAR survey (discovery
observations tabulated below) has been found to cometary appearance by CCD
astrometrists elsewhere after it was posted on the Minor Planet Center's
NEOCP webpage.

     2016 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     May  31.41657   23 24 26.01   - 2 28 09.9   19.3
          31.42202   23 24 25.87   - 2 28 01.0   18.1
          31.42768   23 24 25.82   - 2 27 54.1   19.2
          31.43880   23 24 25.65   - 2 27 37.6   18.4
          31.44436   23 24 25.54   - 2 27 29.6   18.1
          31.45035   23 24 25.48   - 2 27 21.2   17.7

H. Sato, Tokyo, Japan, reports that images taken with an iTelescope 0.61-m
f/6.5 reflector (+ luminance filter) at the Sierra Remote Observatory near
Auberry, CA, USA, on June 3.45 UT show a faint outer coma 25" to 30" in
diameter in eight stacked 60-s exposures; the w-band magnitude was 17.5 as
measured within a circular aperture of radius 15".1.  Stacked images taken by
A. C. Gilmore and P. M. Kilmartin with the Mount John 1.0-m f/7.7 reflector on
June 3.7 show a round coma with FWHM 3".4 but no obvious tail (although with a
possible slight extension of the coma to the southeast).  E. Guido,
Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, notes that ten stacked 120-s exposures
obtained remotely on June 4.4 with an iTelescope 0.43-m f/6.8 astrograph near
Mayhill, NM, USA, show a compact coma nearly 8" in diameter and elongated
toward p.a. 225 deg.  R. Reszelewski, Swidwin, Poland, writes that images
taken by M. Gedek, Oborniki, Poland; M. Zolnowski, Krakow, Poland; M. Kusiak,
Zywiec, Poland; and himself on June 4.42 with a 0.25-m f/3.6 astrograph of
the Polonia Observatory at San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, show a slightly
diffuse object of mag 18.0-18.3.
     The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital
elements by G. V. Williams (from 37 observations spanning May 31-June 4 UT),
and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2016-L34.

     T = 2016 July 14.3582 TT         Peri. =  18.6617
                                      Node  = 325.6983  2000.0
     q = 2.288524 AU                  Incl. =  90.9433


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

                         (C) Copyright 2016 CBAT
2016 June 6                      (CBET 4284)              Daniel W. E. Green