------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1364 1998 Dec 08 20.22UT Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise, Basingstoke, Hants, RG22 4PP,England.Telephone/FAX(01256)471074Int:+441256471074 INTERNET: GUY@TAHQ.DEMON.CO.UK GMH at AST.STAR.RL.AC.UK WORLD WIDE WEB http://www.demon.co.uk/astronomer ------------------------------------------------------------------- COMET C/1998 W3 (LINEAR) Selected CCD observations are available of an object among several recognized by the LINEAR Team as having unusual motion and placed in The NEO Confirmation Page. On reporting astrometric follow-up, G. Hug, Farpoint Observatory, Eskridge, KS, noted the object's appearance as probably cometary 1998 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. m1 Observer Nov. 25.29950 8 46 07.70 +29 49 30.4 18.4 Blythe 27.42897 8 44 39.41 +30 15 04.9 19.0 Cooney 28.05899 8 44 12.10 +30 22 40.5 " M. Blythe, F. Shelly and M. Bezpalko (Socorro). Measurers J. Stuart, T = 1999 Feb. 9.201 TT Peri. = 23.226 Node = 124.163 2000.0 q = 4.86339 AU Incl. = 130.222 1998 UT R. A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. Phase m1 Nov. 28 8 44.24 +30 22.0 4.335 4.897 119.5 10.1 16.1 Dec. 3 8 40.29 +31 24.1 4.255 4.892 125.4 9.5 16.0 8 8 35.69 +32 28.5 4.182 4.888 131.3 8.7 16.0 13 8 30.45 +33 34.6 4.116 4.885 137.2 7.9 16.0 IAUC 7063 COMET P/1939 TN = 1998 WG22 (VAISALA-OTERMA) Precise positions of 1939 TN, an apparently asteroidal object discovered by Y. Vaisala at Turku on 1939 Oct. 7 and observed by him and L. Oterma on three more nights over a 35-day arc, were published in 1979 in Turku Obs. Report R10 and on MPC 4811. The orbit computation by Oterma suggested to her that the object was a comet, and in a communication to the Minor Planet Center in 1981 she remarked that a careful reexamination of the plates suggested that the object was perhaps somewhat diffuse. The introduction to the 1982 edition of the Catalogue of Cometary Orbits quotes her conclusion that the object was probably a comet, but the object was not actually listed as one. On MPEC 1998-X19, the object is identified by S. Nakano, Sumoto, with 1998 WG22, an apparently asteroidal object observed by the LINEAR program on Nov. 18 and 21: 1998 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. m2 Nov. 18.25966 3 40 20.80 +19 53 48.8 19.0 Fortuitously, this object was located only 4' from the result of integrating forward from 1939 the orbital elements by the undersigned on MPC 6815. Further LINEAR observations were made on Nov. 24. On observing the object with the 1.8-m reflector at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory on Dec. 6.3 UT, D. Balam noted (in FWHM 3".1 seeing) an 8" coma and a tail extending 18" in p.a. 260 deg. Epoch = 1999 Jan. 22.0 TT T = 1998 Sept.27.2636 TT Peri. = 165.3358 e = 0.246318 Node = 242.4572 2000.0 q = 3.391581 AU Incl. = 2.3399 a = 4.500018 AU n = 0.1032483 P = 9.546 years 1998/99 R. A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. Phase m1 Dec. 3 3 30.68 +19 11.6 2.446 3.406 164.4 4.5 16.8 13 3 25.25 +18 45.9 2.504 3.410 152.9 7.5 16.8 23 3 21.35 +18 25.6 2.588 3.415 141.8 10.3 16.9 Jan. 2 3 19.34 +18 12.5 2.694 3.421 131.1 12.5 17.0 IAUC 7064 Guy M Hurst