Circular No. 7255

Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION

Mailstop 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.

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COMET P/1999 R2 (GE-WANG) J. V. Scotti, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, reports his recovery

of comet P/1988 V1 (= 1988o = 1988 VIII) with the Spacewatch 0.9-m telescope at Kitt Peak:

1999 UT  α_{2000}  δ_{2000}  m_{1}
Sept.15.44370  2^{h}21^{m}17.^{s}24  +6^{o}41′27′′.2
15.46496  2 21 17.25  +6 41 18.1  20.3
15.49196  2 21 17.37  +6 41 06.6  20.3
15.44370  2 21 17.24  +6 41 27.2
15.46496  2 21 17.25  +6 41 18.1  20.3
15.49196  2 21 17.37  +6 41 06.6  20.3
16.45333  2 21 18.30  +6 34 23.3
16.47169  2 21 18.28  +6 34 15.9  19.8
16.48999  2 21 18.24  +6 34 07.8  19.4

The nuclear magnitude m_{2} = 22.1. On Sept. 15 there was a coma 12′′ across and a tail extending 0′.53 in p.a. 266^{o}. On Sept. 16 the coma diameter was 11′′, and the tail extended 0′.47 in p.a. 267^{o}. The indicated correction to the prediction by S. Nakano on MPC 27081 is ΔT = −5.5 days.

The following improved orbital elements, by the undersigned, satisfy 20 observations 1988–1999 with a mean residual of 0′′.8:

Epoch = 1999 July 1.0 TT

T = 1999 June 21.4782 TT  ω = 177.^{o}3858
e = 0.500318  Ω = 177.1400 }2000.0
q = 2.496405 AU  i = 12.1732

a = 4.995986 AU n^{o} = 0.0882617 P = 11.167 years

1999TT α_{2000}  δ_{2000}  Δ  r  ϵ  β  m_{1}
Sept. 9 2^{h}20.^{m}59 + 7^{o}23.^{′}5 1.801 2.570 130.^{o}3 17.^{o}4 19.4
19 2 21.24 + 6 16.1 1.738 2.589 139.9 14.5 19.3
29 2 19.58 + 4 58.1 1.694 2.610 150.0 11.1 19.3
Oct. 9 2 15.96 + 3 34.8 1.672 2.633 160.0  7.5 19.3
19 2 11.00 + 2 13.2 1.675 2.657 168.0  4.5 19.4
29 2 05.55 + 1 00.6 1.705 2.684 167.7  4.5 19.4
Nov. 8 2 00.45 + 0 03.2 1.761 2.712 159.5  7.3 19.6
18 1 56.48 − 0 34.9 1.843 2.741 149.5 10.5 19.7
28 1 54.19 − 0 52.2 1.948 2.773 139.4 13.4 19.9
Dec. 8 1 53.84 − 0 49.8 2.071 2.805 129.7 15.7 20.1
1999 September 17  \begin{matrix}c \\ ◯ \end{matrix} Copyright 1999 CBAT  Brian G. Marsden