Electronic Telegram No. 3012
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
CBAT Director:  Daniel W. E. Green; 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 C/2012 B3 (LA SAGRA)
     An apparently asteroidal object discovered on CCD images taken with the
0.45-m f/2.8 reflector at La Sagra, Spain (discovery observations tabulated
below) was later noted by Jaime Nomen on La Sagra images taken on Jan. 30.2
to be a possible comet with slight diffuseness.  After posting on the Minor
Planet Center's NEOCP webpage, other CCD astrometrists have commented on the
object's cometary appearance.  H. Sato (Tokyo, Japan; remotely using a 0.51-m
f/4.5 reflector at the RAS Observatory near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) reports a
strongly condensed coma 12" in diameter on eight stacked 60-s images taken on
Jan. 30.5 UT, with a 30" fan-like tail spanning p.a. 345-15 deg.  W. H. Ryan
and E. V. Ryan (Magdalena Ridge Observatory, 2.4-m f/8.9 reflector find the
object diffuse with R-band mag 18.4-18.5 on images taken on Jan. 30.5.  Ten
stacked 20-s R-band images taken remotely by K. Rochowicz, G. Sostero, E.
Guido, and N. Howes with the 2.0-m f/10 "Faulkes Telescope North" at
Haleakala on Jan. 30.6 and Feb. 1.6 in good seeing conditions, show the object
appearing as "soft" compared to nearby field stars of similar brightness.

     2012 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Jan. 29.18454   17 05 47.40   +30 46 26.8   18.3
          29.19037   17 05 47.64   +30 46 34.0   18.9
          29.19622   17 05 47.88   +30 46 41.4   18.4

The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital elements
by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-C23.

     T = 2011 Nov. 29.9102 TT         Peri. =  49.2216
                                      Node  = 252.8441  2000.0
     q = 3.527273 AU                  Incl. = 106.8530


NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes
      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 February 4                  (CBET 3012)              Daniel W. E. Green