News - March 2007

2007 March 21

New Discovery!: An apparently asteroidal object discovered on Mar. 19, 2007, in the course of the LONEOS survey has been found to be cometary after placement on the NEO Confirmation Page by J. Young (Table Mountain), L. Donato, M. Gonano, V. Santini, and G. Sostero (Remanzacco) and P. Birtwhistle (Great Shefford). The first and preliminary orbit for the 19^m comet C/2007 F1 (LONEOS) shows perihelion on Nov. 3, 2007, at about 0.45 AU. This could mean that the comet will reach binocular brightness and that it may be observable at low heights for observers from 50 degrees northern latitude. However, the orbit solution seems not yet stable enough. This is the 41^st comet for the LONEOS survey. (IAUC 8823, subscription required, MPEC 2007-F52)

2007 March 19

The first orbit for comet C/2007 E2 (Lovejoy) indicates a perihelion passage on Mar. 27, 2007, at about 1.1 AU. This means that the comet will become visible at 50 degrees northern latitude in mid-April, with maybe 7^m in the morning sky. Maximum brightness will be reached shortly after when passing perigee. The comet is intrinsically faint. (IAUC 8820, subscription required, MPEC 2007-F32)

2007 March 16

New Discovery!: Terry Lovejoy (Thornlands, Queensland, Australia) reports his discovery of a new comet on Mar. 15, 2007, on CCD images taken with a Canon 350D camera (+ 200-mm f/2.8 lens). Upon his request John Drummond (Gisborne, New Zealand) confirmed the comet visually at about 9.5^m. No orbit is available for comet 2007 E2 which is currently situated at a declination of about -50 degrees. A search ephemeris can be generated using the NEO Confirmation Page. This is the first amateur discovery of 2007, and the first for Lovejoy, who missed several comets in the past. (IAUC 8819, subscription required)

2007 March 14

New Discovery!: G. J. Garradd reports his discovery of a new comet on Mar. 13, 2007, in the course of the Siding Spring Survey. After posting on the NEO Confirmation Page numerous observers were able to confirm the cometary nature: A. Lepardo, V. Santini, and G. Sostero (Remanzacco), P. Birtwhistle (Great Shefford), E. Guido (remotely from Mayhill), D. Tibbets and G. Hug (Eskridge), J. Young (Table Mountain), D. Mayes (Table Mountain), J. E. McGaha (Tucson) and J. G. Ries (McDonald Observatory). The 15^m comet C/2007 E1 (Garradd) will pass perihelion according to the first orbit on May 22, 2007, at about 1.3 AU. The comet will be at perigee and opposition in early April and may then reach 12^m or even brighter. This is the 31^st comet for the Siding Spring Survey. (IAUC 8818, subscription required, MPEC 2007-E70)

2007 March 10

Comet P/2007 B3 now received the permanent periodic comet designation 186P/Garradd.