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Circular No. 8785 Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION Mailstop 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions) CBAT@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science) URL http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html ISSN 0081-0304 Phone 617-495-7440/7244/7444 (for emergency use only) COMET C/2006 YC (CATALINA-CHRISTENSEN) Tabulated below are the initial observations of a comet that was discovered almost simultaneously via the Catalina Sky Survey (with the observer, A. R. Gibbs, reporting the object as apparently asteroidal on the 0.68-m Schmidt telescope exposures) and the Mount Lemmon Survey (whose observer, E. J. Christensen, reported a 6" coma and 10" tail in p.a. 270 degrees on four 30-s co-added discovery images taken with the 1.5-m reflector). Images taken in fair-to-poor seeing at Mt. Lemmon by E. C. Beshore on Dec. 20.5 show a moderately condensed coma about 6" in diameter with a 10" tail in p.a. 250 degrees. When K. Smalley designated the object as 2006 YC via MPEC 2006-Y15 on Dec. 17, he unfortunately was unaware of Christensen's report (submitted to the Central Bureau and to other Minor Planet Center staff members) of the object's cometary appearance. 2006 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer Dec. 16.41622 10 31 38.56 - 4 08 53.4 20.0 Gibbs 16.48765 10 31 38.94 - 4 08 33.2 19.4 Christensen Additional astrometry, the following parabolic orbital elements, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2006-Y26. T = 2007 Sept.25.985 TT Peri. = 29.255 Node = 152.881 2000.0 q = 4.23768 AU Incl. = 73.988 V2362 CYGNI D. K. Lynch, R. W. Russell, D. Kim, The Aerospace Corporation; and M. L. Sitko and S. Brafford, University of Cincinnati and Space Science Institute, report that 3- to 13-micron spectroscopy of V2362 Cyg (cf. IAUC 8731) on Dec. 12.25 UT using BASS on the Infrared Telescope Facility showed a smooth stellar-like continuum decreasing monotonically toward longer wavelengths between 3 and 13 microns with no evidence of thermal emission from dust. Infrared magnitudes at that time were L = 5.0 +/- 0.1, M = 4.5 +/- 0.2, N = 4.0 +/- 0.2. Visual magnitude estimates: Nov. 15.736 UT, 11.5 (M. Lehky, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic); 18.731, 10.9 (A. Diepvens, Balen, Belgium); Dec. 10.836, 12.0 (J. Carvajal, Madrid, Spain). (C) Copyright 2006 CBAT 2006 December 20 (8785) Daniel W. E. Green
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