News - February 2008

2008 February 6

Recovery!: M. Tichy and J. Ticha (Klet) report the recovery of comet P/2000 U6 (Tichy) on Feb.03, 2008. They subsequently identified earlier images taken by them from Jan. 11, 2008. Comet P/2008 C2 (Tichy) is about 19^m and will pass perihelion on Feb. 07, 2008, at about 2.1 AU. The period is about 7.3 years. The correction in perihelion time to the prediction on MPC 54167 is Delta(T) = -0.16 day. (IAUC 8917, subscription required)

2008 February 3

New Discovery!: J. Beize (Beijing Technology and Business University) reports the discovery of a new comet with 13^m by Tao Chen (Suzhou City, Jiangsu province, China) on a nova survey CCD image of Feb. 01, taken by Xing Gao (Urumqi, Xinjiang province) with a wide-field 7-cm, f/2.8 camera lens (+Canon 350D camera) at Xingming Observatory on Mt. Nanshan. They also reported the detection of the comet on earlier images of Jan. 30, and 31, where it appeared at 14^m and 13.5^m, respectively. A confirming image of Feb. 2, showed it at 12^m. After posting on the NEO Confirmation Page further confirming reports were received from J. Lacruz (Madrid), L. Buzzi and F. Luppi (Varese), T. Kryachko (Moscow, remotely from Karachay-Cherkessia), M. Pietschnig (Vienna) and P. C. Sherrod (Conway). The first orbit for comet C/2008 C1 (Chen-Gao) indicates perihelion on Apr. 17, 2008, at about 1.3 AU. This means that the comet may reach 11^m. For the northern hemisphere the comet will be favourably placed on the evening sky until at least April. A visual observation by A. Hale yield a brightness of 13.1^m and a coma diameter of 0.8'. (IAUC 8915, subscription required, MPEC 2008-C16, Comets Mailing List)

2008 February 2

New Discovery!: A new comet found by a. Boattini on Feb. 1, 2008, in the course of the Catalina Sky Survey and posted on the NEO Confirmation Page was confirmed by J. Young (Table Mountain). T. Spahr (MPC) was then able to identify with the Catalina discovery 2007 VQ₁₁ from Nov. 3, 2007. The orbit for the now 18^m comet P/2007 VQ₁₁ (Catalina) shows perihelion on Feb. 13, 2008, at about 2.7 AU. The period is 12.6 years. This is the 55^th comet for the Catalina Sky Survey. (IAUC 8914, subscription required, MPEC 2008-C02)