IAUC 9144: P/2010 H5; P/1999 J6 = 2004 V9 = 2010 H3

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                                                  Circular No. 9144
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
CBAT Director:  D. W. E. Green, Room 209; Department of
 Earth and Planetary Sciences; Harvard University;
 20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA  02138; U.S.A.
CBAT@IAU.ORG; CBATIAU@EPS.HARVARD.EDU
URL http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html  ISSN 0081-0304


COMET P/2010 H5 (SCOTTI)
     An object with slight cometary appearance was discovered by J.
V. Scotti on images obtained with the Spacewatch 0.9-m reflector at
Kitt Peak (discovery observation tabulated below).  Scotti notes
that co-added images taken on Apr. 22 with the 1.8-m Spacewatch
reflector consistently show a faint extension about 5" in p.a. 287
deg; the very subtle feature is visible on all three images.
Images taken on May 3 and 4 with the 1.8-m telescope show the
object to be slightly softer and slightly larger than stars of
similar brightness.  R-band images taken by W. H. Ryan and E. V.
Ryan with the Magdalena Ridge 2.4-m reflector on May 8.2 show a
"fuzzy" object of mag 20 with its FWHM significantly greater than
those of nearby field stars.

     2010 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     Apr. 21.15333   13 09 46.19   - 5 57 06.5   20.7   Scotti

The available astrometry (including prediscovery Spacewatch images
from Mar. 18 and Mt. Lemmon images from Mar. 21 and Apr. 10,
identified by T. Spahr, Minor Planet Center), the following
elliptical orbital elements, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC
2010-J45.

     T = 2010 Apr. 11.295 TT          Peri. = 174.673
     e = 0.15594                      Node  =  24.896   2000.0
     q = 6.02769 AU                   Incl. =  14.096
       a =  7.14129 AU     n = 0.051646     P =  19.08 years


COMET P/1999 J6 = 2004 V9 = 2010 H3 (SOHO)
     Further to IAUC 9138, additional astrometry from STEREO-SECCHI
HI1-A images on Apr. 20-22 appears on MPEC 2010-J28, where B. G.
Marsden also presents a non-gravitational three-apparition orbital
linkage (in partial collaboration with R. Kracht) from 255
observations spanning 1999-2010 (mean residual 17".4; A_1 = +0.31,
A_2 = -0.1892) including the following elements for epoch 2010 May
4.0 TT:  T = 2010 Apr. 19.8921 TT, q = 0.047573 AU, e = 0.984616,
Peri. = 24.8606 deg, Node = 78.3483 deg, i = 23.8790 deg (equinox
2000.0), P = 5.44 years.  The object passed 0.014 AU from the moon
on 1999 June 12.09, 0.013 AU from the earth on 1999 June 12.19, and
1.16 AU from Jupiter on 2008 June 24; a moderately close approach
to the earth of 0.32 AU occurs on 2010 May 29.  MPEC 2010-J28
includes an ephemeris (estimated uncertainty about 1') in the hope
that the comet might be observable around mag 20-21 (brightness
highly uncertain) in the next couple of months as it approaches
opposition in mid-June.

                      (C) Copyright 2010 CBAT
2010 May 8                     (9144)            Daniel W. E. Green

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