News - December 2003

2003 Dec 23

An apparently asteroidal object discovered already on Nov 29, 2003, by the LONEOS survey moves on a cometary orbit. The 18^m object 2003 WN₁₈₈ will pass perihelion in April 2004, at about 2.2 AU. The first orbit indicates a period of about 55 years. It is possible that cometary activity will be detected in the coming months and further monitoring is strongly recommended. (MPEC 2003-Y43)

2003 Dec 17

New Discovery!: An apparently asteroidal object discovered on Dec 04, and 05, 2003, by the LINEAR survey which then received the designation 2003 XD₁₀ was independently discovered by the NEAT survey on Dec 14, 2003, as a 19^m comet with a short tail. The cometary nature was confirmed by several observers doing follow-up after the object was posted on the object on the NEOCP. The comet P/2003 XD₁₀ (LINEAR-NEAT) passed perihelion at about 1.9 AU in September 2003. The comet has a period of about 6.1 years. This is the 130^th comet discovery by LINEAR and the 39^th by NEAT. (IAUC 8257, MPEC 2003-Y16)

2003 Dec 11

Periodic comet 104P/Kowal has been identified by Gary W. Kronk with an unconfirmed comet discovery by the late Leo Boethin (Abra, Philippines) on Jan. 11, 1973. The comet, reported first as bright as 9^m could not be confirmed at that time due to an unclear discovery telegram by Boethin, subsequent slow communication and the fast fading of the comet which was then obviously in outburst. Boethin later reported that the comet had faded to about 12-13^m only three days later. 104P is known for large non-gravitational forces affecting its orbit - something that is often associated with outbursts and possible splitting. (IAUC 8255)

2003 Dec 09

P. Jenniskens, NASA Ames Research Center, has pointed out that the NEO 2003 EH₁ seems to be a very strong candidate for the parent of the Quadrantid meteor stream. The current orbit indicates that frequent approaches within 0.2-0.3 AU of Jupiter can occur. The orbital elements as well as the radiant are very similar to the Quadrantid meteor stream. It is possible that 2003 EH₁ is a comet and it should be treated as a high-priority object for further observation and study. (IAUC 8252)
Following the reported identification on IAUC 8247 of P/2001 RG₁₀₀ (LINEAR) with C/1979 O1 (Kowal), the IAU Committee on Small-Body Nomenclature has agreed to rename this comet 158P/Kowal-LINEAR. (IAUC 8253)

2003 Dec 05

In September M. Mattiazzo reported that comet C/2002 O7 (LINEAR) seemed to have been disrupted (cf. news of 2003 Sep 28). A call by the CBAT for confirmation received no response. But now, G. P. Tozzi (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Arcetri), together with H. Boehnhardt, O. R. Hainaut, F. Selman, I. Saviane, M. Pizarro, G. Roman, and F. Labrana, report that they have searched for the comet on Dec. 3, 2003, when the predicted magnitude was 10, with several large telescopes at ESO. They were not able to detect the comet the comet to a limiting magnitude of R about 20.5 within an area 30' x 30' centered at its predicted position. (IAUC 8250)

2003 Dec 04

New Discovery!: An apparently asteroidal object discovered already on Oct 16, 2003, by the LONEOS survey which then received the designation 2003 UD₁₆ was found to be cometary by C. W. Hergenrother (Mt. Hopkins) in images of Nov. 30, 2003. The 18.5^m comet P/2003 UD₁₆ (LONEOS) will pass perihelion at about 3.7 AU in March 2004. The comet has a period of about 14.3 years. This is the 24^th comet discovery by LONEOS. (IAUC 8248)

2003 Dec 03

S. Nakano (Sumoto, Japan) reports that he was able to identify comet P/2001 RG₁₀₀ (LINEAR) with comet C/1979 O1 (Kowal) = 1979h. This comet was only observed for three days in 1979 and was suspected to be of short-period. (IAUC 8247, NK995)
New Discovery!: An apparently asteroidal object discovered already on Oct 29, 2003, by the LINEAR survey which then received the designation 2003 UY₂₇₅ was found by C. W. Hergenrother (Mt. Hopkins) to be cometary in images of Nov. 30, 2003. R. S. McMillan (Spacewatch) also noted the cometary nature of the object. The comet P/2003 UY₂₇₅ (LINEAR) passed perihelion at about 1.8 AU in July 2003. The comet has a period of about 7.2 years. This is the 129^th comet discovery by LINEAR. (IAUC 8247, MPEC 2003-X17)