-------------------------------------------------------------------
THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1950      2003 Dec 16 19.16UT
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.theastronomer.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------
COMET P/2001 RG_100 = 1979 O1
S. Nakano of Japan has reported on IAUC 8247 that Comet P/2001 RG100 
(LINEAR) has been found to be identical with C/1979 O1 = 1979h (Kowal), 
the latter having been lost immediately after discovery.

SUPERNOVAE 2003kj-2003kv
P. Challis on behalf of the ESSENCE project has reported discovery of 13 
supernovae designated as above, found Nov 15-27, all of magnitude 21.0 
or fainter according to IAUC 8251.

SUPERNOVA 2003kg IN IC1427
The discovery of this object by Mark Armstrong was reported on 
E-Circular 1946. Subsequently A. V. Filippenko et. Al., have noted on 
IAU Circular 8246 that a spectrum obtained on 2003 Nov 29 with the 
Keck-I 10-m telescope has shown this to be a supernova of type Ia, then 
near maximum.

SUPERNOVA 2003kh IN UGC 11491
This discovery by Mark Armstrong (cf E-Circular 1948) has also been 
studied by Filippenko et. al., again showing it to be a supernova of 
type Ia from a spectrum of Nov 29 when it was estimated to be about 7 
days after maximum light according to IAU Circular 8246.

SUPERNOVA 2003ih IN UGC 2836
Filippenko also reports on IAU Circular 8246 that this object, also 
found by Mark Armstrong (see E-Circular 1925) is a supernova of type 
Ib/Ic several months past maximum according to a spectrum obtained on 
Nov 29.

SUPERNOVA 2003ki In MCG +11-10-34
This possible supernova, found by Tom Boles, was reported on TA 
E-Circular 1949. A spectrum obtained on Nov 29 also by Filippenko et. 
al. shows it to be a supernova of type IIb about 3-4 weeks past maximum 
according to a note on IAU Circular 8246.

NOVA IN MESSIER 31
K. Hornoch has reported the discovery of an apparent nova in Messier 31 
and located at:
RA 00h 42m 53.64s DEC +41 18' 45.9" (2000). The new object, according to 
IAU Circular 8248, is 105"E and 157"N of the galaxy's centre. The object 
was not recorded to R magnitude 18.6 on Nov 2.87UT but a positive 
magnitude of 16.9 was measured for Nov 9.07UT.

COMET C/2002 O7 (LINEAR)
According to an earlier report on IAUC 8250 by M. Mattiazzo, South 
Australia, a CCD image of Sept. 27.8 UT showed that this comet had 
apparently disrupted although no confirmatory observations were 
available from others at the time.

However more recently G. P. Tozzi (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 
Arcetri) and others report that a search on Dec. 3
(when its predicted total magnitude was about 10) with several 
telescopes at the European Southern Observatory did not show any trace 
of the comet to a limit of magnitude R about 20.5.

Guy M Hurst