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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2456      2008 Jun 16 09.33UT
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      Backup: gmh@wdcc1.bnsc.rl.ac.uk
WORLD WIDE WEB                         http://www.theastronomer.org
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(136108) 2003 EL_61 AND S/2005 (136108) 2
D. C. Fabrycky, Harvard University; D. Ragozzine and M. E. Brown,
California Institute of Technology; and M. J. Holman, Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory, report on IAUC 8949 that orbital fits to the 
relative astrometric positions of this dwarf planet and its inner 
satellite, S/2005 (136108) 2, have revealed a near edge-
on orbit, implying likely mutual events. The new orbital model is based 
on images from the HST and the Keck telescope.

Due to the changing orientation of the earth-(136108) line-
of-sight, the orbit is moving closer to edge-on until August 2008, after 
which the orbit will open up again, ending mutual events for the next 
century. The current distance of closest projected approach is about 500 
km, nearly the same as the semi-minor axis of the triaxial primary. 
Nominally, events in May are
grazing but get progressively more central (and more likely) throughout 
June and July. The duration of the events will be between 0 and about 6 
hr; ingress and egress will consist of about 0.03-magnitude changes on a 
timescale of about 1 hour.  The unocculted light curve has a 
double-peaked rotational modulation of full amplitude 0.29 mag and 
period 3.9155 hr. Telescopes distributed in longitude are needed to 
follow events, as the revised orbital period is 18.36 days.  The main 
body is rather faint (V about 17.3), so high-precision photometry 
requires moderate (about 1 m) collecting area.  Continual updates are 
accessible at website URL:
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~fabrycky/EL61.

SUPERNOVA 2008co IN IC 2522
Discovery by Berto Monard, South Africa, of a possible supernova (CBET 
1386):
SN      2008 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2008co  May 26.76   09 55 08.97  -33 08 05.7  17.1     1  "E, 8  "N
Nothing is visible at this position on Monard's image from May
5.780 (limiting mag 18.8) or on a Digitised Sky Survey image (limiting 
red mag 20.5). The type-II supernova 2008br also appeared in IC 2522.

SUPERNOVA 2008cp IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
Discovery by the CHASE project, of a possible supernova (CBET 1387):
SN      2008 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2008cp  May 24.02   09 42 22.89  -03 45 10.1  17.7       -     -

SUPERNOVA 2008cq IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
Discovery by Berto Monard, South Africa, of a possible supernova (CBET 
1388):
SN      2008 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2008cq  May 29.80   14 21 09.61  -29 15 04.9  14.4     9  "W    -

SUPERNOVA 2008cr IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY
Discovery by D Sand et. al., Steward Observatory, of a possible 
supernova (CBET 1389):
SN      2008 UT      R.A.  (2000.0)  Decl.    Mag.     Offset
2008cr  Apr  2      11 43 34.44  +46 22 03.6  22.5g    0.1"E, 0.9"N
Follow-up spectroscopy, obtained with the MMT at Mt. Hopkins on Apr. 28, 
indicates a normal type-Ia supernova around 10-15 days past maximum.

Guy M Hurst