News - March 2003

03/27/2003

One SOHO comet received an orbit and a designation: C/2002 W5 (SOHO) was found S. Hönig and is a member of the Kreutz group. SOHO has now found 554 comets. (MPEC 2003-F45)

03/25/2003

New Discovery!: The LINEAR survey reported an apparently asteroidal object, discovered on Mar. 23, 2003, which then was posted on the NEO Confirmation Page. Numerous follow-up observers noted the cometary appearance. According to the first and very preliminary elements the 16.5^m comet C/2003 F1 (LINEAR) already passed perihelion in July 2002, at about 3.9 AU. This is LINEARs 102^nd comet discovery. (IAUC 8098, MPEC 2003-F35)
Refined orbital elements for comet C/2003 E1 (NEAT) show that it is an intermediate periodic comet with a P of about 53 years. (MPEC 2003-F22)

03/22/2003

Two SOHO comets received orbits and designations: C/2002 W3 (SOHO) was found by R. Kracht and C/2002 W4 (SOHO) by M. Meyer. Both comets are members of the Kreutz group. SOHO has now found 553 comets. (MPEC 2003-F18)

03/21/2003

Two SOHO comets received orbits and designations: C/2002 W1 (SOHO) was found by X.-M. Zhou and C/2002 W2 (SOHO) by R. Kracht. Both comets are members of the Kreutz group. SOHO has now found 551 comets. (MPEC 2003-F16)

03/20/2003

Two SOHO comets received orbits and designations: C/2002 V6 (SOHO) was found by K. Cernis and C/2002 V7 (SOHO) by R. Matson. Both comets are members of the Kreutz group. SOHO has now found 549 comets. (MPEC 2003-F14)

03/17/2003

A very interesting object was found by the NEAT survey on Feb. 01, 2003. The asteroidal object A/2003 CO₁ moves in an orbit that has a perihelion distance of about 10.9 AU and a period of about 96 years. It is about 19^m and has shown no cometary activity until now. (MPEC 2003-F03, MPEC 2003-F02)
C. B. Cosmovici (Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy) reports that he and M. Teodorani, S. Montebugnoli, and G. Maccaferri (ITASEL team) using the Medicina 32m radio telescope have detected 22-GHz water-maser line in comet C/2002 V1 (NEAT) while at perihelion. This also corresponds to the time when the CME from the Sun was observed. The results are in close agreement with those obtained for comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake). Full details in IAUC 8094. (IAUC 8094)

03/15/2003

The Spacewatch survey was able to recover the periodic comet 66P/du Toit which was only seen in 1944 and 1974. The 20^m comet was observed on Mar 10, and 11, 2003. The correction to the prediction in MPC 40670 is -0.25 day in T. The comet seems fainter than predicted. Perihelion will be in August 2003, at about 1.3 AU. The predicted maximum brightness is 13^m. (IAUC 8093, MPEC 2003-E57)

03/13/2003

New Discovery!: On Mar. 10, 2003, the NEAT survey reported the discovery of a comet which was subsequently placed on the NEO Confirmation Page. The cometary nature of the 17.5^m object was then confirmed. Furthermore the comet was identified with an asteroidal object, discovered by the LINEAR survey on Feb. 01, 2003, and observed thereafter, designated 2003 CP₇ (MPS 73383-73384, Feb. 16). Additional observations by the LONEOS survey of Feb. 03, 2003, were also found. The orbit for comet P/2003 CP₇ (LINEAR) shows a perihelion on Apr. 29, 2003, at about 3.0 AU. The comet is of short period with a P of about 8.1 years. This is LINEARs 101^st and NEATs 30^th comet discovery. (IAUC 8092, MPEC 2003-E47)
New Discovery!: The NEAT survey reported the discovery of another comet in images of Mar. 09, 2003. The preliminary orbital elements of the 19^m comet C/2003 E1 (NEAT) indicate a perihelion in March 2004, at about 2.95 AU. The comet may be as bright as 15^m next summer. This is NEATs 31^st comet discovery. (IAUC 8092, MPEC 2003-E48)
In May two international meetings will take plaace which are connected with cometary astronomy. The links can be found on the Dates and Events page.

03/08/2003

A new target has been chosen for the Rosetta spacecraft after missing the initial launch window for comet 46P/Wirtanen. The new target will be comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Further details can be found here.