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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 983       1995 Aug 13 14.00UT
Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise,  Basingstoke,
Hants, RG22 4PP,England. Telephone/FAX(0256)471074 Int:+44256471074
INTERNET: GUY@TAHQ.DEMON.CO.UK             GMH at AST.STAR.RL.AC.UK
WORLD WIDE WEB                    http://www.demon.co.uk/astronomer
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SATURN
     S. J. O'Meara, Sky & Telescope, reports that visual observa-
tions by W. Sheehan, D. Graham, T. Dobbins, and himself with the
Lick Observatory 0.91-m refractor show two white spots in the
northern region of the equatorial zone.  The larger, low-contrast
spot of diameter about 4" transited the planet at Aug. 10.375 UT
(corresponding to system-I longitude 333 deg).  The smaller spot of
diameter about 2" transited at Aug. 10.444 (longitude 31 deg).
Observations made about 12 hr prior to crossing the ring plane on
Aug. 10.5 showed the rings still visible to a distance from the
planet of one Saturn diameter.
IAUC 6204


COMET 19P/BORRELLY
     P. Lamy, Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiale, Marseille, and his
team report: "Using the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 of the Hubble
Space Telescope, we have detected a highly elongated nucleus rotat-
ing with a synodic period of 24.7 hr.  The prolate spheroid that
gives the best fit to the nuclear-magnitude light curve has major
and minor axes dimensions of 8.3 and 3.3 km, respectively, assuming
a geometric albedo of 4 percent.  We estimate that about 10 percent
of the surface area is active."
IAUC 6204

Martin Mobberley