Electronic Telegram No. 5715 Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams Mailing address: Hoffman Lab 209; Harvard University; 20 Oxford St.; Cambridge, MA 02138; U.S.A. e-mail: cbatiau@eps.harvard.edu (alternate cbat@iau.org) URL http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/index.html Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network COMET P/2026 L3 = P/2012 K3 = P/2019 S6 (GIBBS) R. Weryk, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, reports the accidental recovery of comet P/2012 K3 (cf. CBET 3122) in images obtained with both the Pan-STARRS1 and Pan-STARRS2 1.8-m Ritchey- Chretien reflectors at Haleakala, Hawaii (astrometry tabulated below, together with newly identified Pan-STARRS1 observations from its Sept. 2019 apparition. 2019 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Sept.29.23305 19 12 45.77 -24 52 16.2 22.5 29.24139 19 12 46.50 -24 52 17.3 22.1 29.24972 19 12 47.21 -24 52 18.9 22.6 30.22119 19 14 14.35 -24 55 11.6 22.3 30.22843 19 14 15.00 -24 55 12.4 23.5 30.23484 19 14 15.59 -24 55 13.9 22.0 2026 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. June 13.53279 20 22 23.91 -11 34 09.9 22.0 13.55152 20 22 24.15 -11 34 15.1 22.1 13.56375 20 22 24.29 -11 34 18.7 21.8 13.57558 20 22 24.43 -11 34 22.0 21.3 25.51433 20 23 21.58 -12 49 15.0 21.2 25.52588 20 23 21.49 -12 49 20.3 21.0 25.53743 20 23 21.41 -12 49 25.7 21.3 25.54904 20 23 21.32 -12 49 31.1 21.3 Four stacked 45-s w-band survey Pan-STARRS1 images taken on June 13 in 1".4- 1".7 seeing show a head of size 1".4 (full-width-at-half-maximum; no obvious coma) and no tail. Four stacked 45-s w-band survey Pan-STARRS1 images taken in 1".2-1".5 seeing on June 25 show a head of size 1".5 (FWHM), again with no coma and no tail. The residuals for the recovery observations in 2026 were -235" in R.A. and +6" in Decl. from the prediction in NK 3203 (and ICQ's Comet Handbook for 2026), with the a correction of Delta(T) = +0.10 day. The following linked orbital elements by S. Nakano (Central Bureau) are from 151 observations spanning 2012 May 21-2026 June 25 (mean residual 0".6). The comet passed 0.21 AU from Jupiter on 2002 Nov. 30 UT. Epoch = 2005 Nov. 6.0 TT T = 2005 Nov. 11.34085 TT Peri. = 172.13572 e = 0.4267351 Node = 125.94446 2000.0 q = 2.0718949 AU Incl. = 13.20757 a = 3.6142018 AU n = 0.14344502 P = 6.87 years Epoch = 2012 Sept.30.0 TT T = 2012 Sept.30.34290 TT Peri. = 172.30619 e = 0.4258539 Node = 125.87948 2000.0 q = 2.0768495 AU Incl. = 13.20190 a = 3.6172839 AU n = 0.14326172 P = 6.88 years Epoch = 2019 Aug. 25.0 TT T = 2019 Aug. 17.50104 TT Peri. = 172.11693 e = 0.4237213 Node = 125.80892 2000.0 q = 2.0890910 AU Incl. = 13.19430 a = 3.6251398 AU n = 0.14279629 P = 6.90 years Epoch = 2026 July 19.0 TT T = 2026 July 15.87345 TT Peri. = 172.10113 e = 0.4218558 Node = 125.80135 2000.0 q = 2.1011979 AU Incl. = 13.17884 a = 3.6343839 AU n = 0.14225183 P = 6.93 years Epoch = 2033 June 12.0 TT T = 2033 June 14.13269 TT Peri. = 172.05223 e = 0.4238212 Node = 125.78346 2000.0 q = 2.0904091 AU Incl. = 13.19416 a = 3.6280560 AU n = 0.14262416 P = 6.91 years Epoch = 2040 May 6.0 TT T = 2040 Apr. 28.34966 TT Peri. = 172.03109 e = 0.4277095 Node = 125.69229 2000.0 q = 2.0642144 AU Incl. = 13.22024 a = 3.6069343 AU n = 0.14387877 P = 6.85 years The above magnitudes are 3-4 magnitudes fainter than the intrinsic brightness at the 2012 apparition. The following ephemeris by the undersigned from the above orbital elements uses photometric power-law parameters H = 16.5 and 2.5n = 10 for the magnitudes. Date TT R. A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. Phase Mag. 2026 06 09 20 21.02 -11 14.7 1.299 2.120 132.4 20.7 20.3 2026 06 19 20 23.31 -12 04.0 1.219 2.111 141.6 17.4 20.2 2026 06 29 20 22.94 -13 17.5 1.155 2.105 151.5 13.3 20.0 2026 07 09 20 20.19 -14 53.5 1.111 2.102 162.1 8.6 20.0 2026 07 19 20 15.68 -16 46.5 1.089 2.101 173.0 3.4 19.9 2026 07 29 20 10.47 -18 47.1 1.090 2.104 175.0 2.4 19.9 2026 08 08 20 05.74 -20 44.6 1.115 2.109 164.1 7.6 20.0 2026 08 18 20 02.64 -22 29.7 1.163 2.117 153.3 12.4 20.1 2026 08 28 20 02.04 -23 56.1 1.230 2.127 143.2 16.5 20.2 2026 09 07 20 04.34 -25 01.1 1.316 2.140 133.8 19.9 20.4 2026 09 17 20 09.62 -25 44.4 1.416 2.156 125.1 22.4 20.6 2026 09 27 20 17.66 -26 07.0 1.528 2.174 117.0 24.3 20.8 2026 10 07 20 28.09 -26 10.5 1.649 2.195 109.5 25.4 21.0 2026 10 17 20 40.50 -25 56.6 1.779 2.218 102.4 26.0 21.2 2026 10 27 20 54.50 -25 26.8 1.914 2.243 95.7 26.2 21.4 2026 11 06 21 09.68 -24 42.7 2.054 2.270 89.3 25.9 21.6 2026 11 16 21 25.74 -23 45.9 2.197 2.298 83.1 25.3 21.8 NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars. (C) Copyright 2026 CBAT 2026 July 9 (CBET 5715) Daniel W. E. Green