IAU Circulars (IAUCs) - циркуляры МАС - 12/2010

[Tikhon]

21 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2600

POSSIBLE SUPERNOVA IN NGC 5430

Further to their report on CBET 2486, Guoyou Sun and Xing Gao report the
following additional magnitudes for this possible supernova: Oct. 10.572 UT,
17.2; 11.572, 17.1; Nov. 12.967, 17.9; 13.982, 18.1; 26.941, 18.4; Dec. 13.922,
18.8. Sun and Gao have posted their images at the following website URL:
http://www.lababuy.com/XOSS/XM10AD/XM10AD.htm.

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superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

2010 December 21 (CBET 2600) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

21 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2601

SUPERNOVAE 2010kl AND 2010ky-2010lk

Further to CBET 2586, A. J. Drake, S. G. Djorgovski, A. Mahabal, M. J.
Graham, and R. Williams, California Institute of Technology; J. L. Prieto,
Carnegie Observatories; M. Catelan, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile;
E. C. Beshore and S. M. Larson, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of
Arizona; and E. Christensen, Gemini Observatory, report the CRTS discovery of
numerous supernovae in unfiltered Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) and Mount Lemmon
Survey (MLS) CCD images:

SN 2010 UT R.A. (2000.0) Decl. Mag. Offset Type
2010ky Oct. 12.28 0 40 04.97 - 6 36 16.5 19.5 2".9 W, 9".9 N IIP
2010kz Oct. 13.40 2 45 37.19 -11 12 39.4 17.2 54".0 E, 47".3 N Ia
2010la Oct. 19.40 2 24 15.37 -15 51 11.6 18.4 -- IIP
2010lb Oct. 28.40 3 19 57.50 -14 47 07.9 18.6 1".0 S IIP
2010lc Oct. 31.25 1 55 01.38 +11 39 25.2 18.6 12".2 E, 3".7 N Ia
2010ld Nov. 3.50 9 04 03.07 + 9 05 27.9 18.6 -- Ia
2010le Nov. 5.19 0 20 52.21 +33 39 35.5 18.2 1".7 E, 2".0 N Ia
2010lf Nov. 12.15 1 07 19.37 +17 59 08.6 17.3 -- IIP
2010lg Nov. 15.17 22 56 40.22 +38 10 43.8 18.1 10".0 E, 5".4 S IIb
2010lh Nov. 27.24 1 30 33.70 +10 40 27.0 19.3 -- Ia-p
2010li Nov. 28.27 2 07 02.52 +20 51 13.9 19.3 -- Ia
2010lj Dec. 3.35 8 54 02.21 +35 03 11.9 19.0 -- Ia
2010lk Dec. 3.51 9 15 14.35 + 1 22 16.4 17.4 1".0 E, 2".0 N Ia

The supernovae were spectroscopically confirmed on Nov. 29, Dec. 3, and Dec. 4
using the Palomar 5-m telescope (+ DBSP). Classification was carried out
using the SNID cross-correlation program (Blondin and Tonry 2007, Ap.J. 666,
1024). In addition to the results above, 2010kl (cf. CBET 2567) is found to
be a normal type-Ia supernova.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010ky: 2009 Dec. 16.12 UT, [20.2; 2010
Sept. 10.39, 19.2; Oct. 7.27, 19.3; Nov. 8.21, 19.4; Dec. 6.18, 20.0.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010kz: 2009 Dec. 15.17, [18.5; 2010 Oct.
19.27, 17.2; 29.37, 17.7; Nov. 8.30, 17.9; 16.24, 18.1; Dec. 6.25, 18.4;
14.15, 18.9.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010la: 2009 Dec. 17.17, [20.4; 2010 Nov.
2.36, 18.4; 13.28, 18.4; Dec. 6.28, 18.3; 14.15, 18.4.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010lb: 2009 Dec. 17.25, [20.1; 2010 Nov.
1.34, 18.7; 13.35, 18.7; Dec. 1.30, 19.3; 13.23, 19.3.
Further MLS magnitudes for 2010lc: Sept. 1.48, [21.0; Nov. 11.21, 18.0;
28.16, 18.7; Dec. 13.13, 19.2.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010ld: Oct. 14.50, [20.2; Nov. 12.47, 18.6;
Dec. 2.50, 19.7; 15.39, 20.0.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010le: Sept. 10.43, [19.4; Oct. 8.29, 19.0;
Nov. 11.19, 18.5.
Further MLS magnitudes for 2010lf: June 17.46 [18.0.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010lg: June 12.46, [19.5; Dec. 13.07, 18.0.
Further MLS magnitudes for 2010lh: Oct. 28.28, [21.2; Nov. 10.25, 20.4;
Dec. 13.08, 20.1.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010li: Oct. 9.37, [20.3; Nov. 5.27, 18.8;
Dec. 4.10, 19.5; 13.20, 19.8.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010lj: Oct. 31.49, [20.0; Nov. 2.49, 19.8;
12.43, 18.8; Dec. 13.43, 19.5.
Further CSS magnitudes for 2010lk: Nov. 12.51, [19.1.

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

2010 December 21 (CBET 2601) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

23 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2602

SUPERNOVA 2010ll

Further to CBET 2601, A. J. Drake, S. G. Djorgovski, A. Mahabal, M. J.
Graham, and R. Williams, California Institute of Technology; J. L. Prieto,
Carnegie Observatories; M. Catelan, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile;
E. C. Beshore and S. M. Larson, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of
Arizona; and E. Christensen, Gemini Observatory, report the CRTS discovery of
an apparent supernova in unfiltered Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) images:

SN 2010 UT R.A. (2000.0) Decl. Mag. Offset
2010ll Dec. 10.32 4 50 29.81 -10 44 17.0 18.1 11".8 W, 6".3 N

Further CSS magnitudes for 2010ll: Nov. 16.39 UT, [20.4; Nov. 30.35, 19.0.

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

2010 December 23 (CBET 2602) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

23 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2603

SUPERNOVA 2010lm

G. Pignata and M. Cifuentes, Universidad Andres Bello; J. Maza, M. Hamuy,
R. Antezana, L. Gonzalez, R. Cartier, F. Forster, S. Silva, and F. Carrasco,
Universidad de Chile; P. Gonzalez, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile;
B. Conuel, Wesleyan University; G. Folatelli, IPMU, University of Tokyo; and
D. Reichart, K. Ivarsen, J. Haislip, A. Crain, D. Foster, M. Nysewander, and
A. LaCluyze, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on behalf of the
CHASE project, report the discovery of an apparent supernova (mag approximately
18.1 +/- 0.5) on an unfiltered image taken on Dec. 20.22 UT with the 0.41-m
'PROMPT 4' telescope located at Cerro Tololo. The new object, which is also
present at mag approximately 17.0 +/- 0.3 in an image taken on Dec. 22.25, is
located at R.A. = 10h03m57s.35 +/- 0".2, Decl. = -27o38'30".3 +/- 0".2 (equinox
2000), which is about 2".8 west and 0".9 south of the center of the presumed
host galaxy. Nothing is visible at this position on archival images taken on
Dec. 9.31 (limiting mag 18.5) and in a stack of seventeen 400-s images taken
between 2009 Nov. 8.33 and 2010 Nov. 25.26 (limiting mag 20.7).

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

2010 December 23 (CBET 2603) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

26 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2604

SUPERNOVA 2010lm

Further to CBET 2603, and on behalf of the "Palomar Transient Factory"
group (http://www.astro.caltech.edu/ptf/), J. Parrent, D. A. Howell, Richard
Ellis, Avishay Gal-Yam, and P. E. Nugent write that a CCD spectrum (range
350-950 nm), taken on the Gemini South telescope on Dec. 24 UT, reveals that
2010lm is a type-Ia supernova before maximum light, near -7 days. They
determined z = 0.054 from the host-galaxy's H-alpha and O II 500.7-nm and
from fits to the supernova features.

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

2010 December 26 (CBET 2604) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

27 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2605

SUPERNOVA 2010ln IN UGC 2685

T. Crowley, J. Newton, and T. Puckett report the discovery of an apparent
supernova (mag 17.1) on an unfiltered CCD image (limiting mag 19.2) taken with
a 0.40-m reflector at Portal, AZ, U.S.A., on Dec. 25.22 UT in the course of
the Puckett Observatory Supernova Search. The new object was confirmed at
mag 17.1 on Dec. 26.21 by Puckett with the 0.40-m reflector at Portal. The
new object is located at R.A. = 3h20m53s.62, Decl. = +38o15'11".9 (equinox
2000.0), which is 21".6 east and 2".4 south of the center of UGC 2685.
Nothing is visible at this position on images taken by Puckett on Nov. 6
(limiting mag 19.3).

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

2010 December 27 (CBET 2605) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

27 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2606

COMET P/2002 VP_94 (LINEAR)

An apparently asteroidal object with a comet-like orbit was discovered in
2002 by the LINEAR project (discovery observation tabulated below), designated
2002 VP_94 (cf. MPEC 2002-V70), and observed then for well over two months.
The object was again found by the LINEAR project on 2010 Nov. 15 (recovery
observation also tabulated below). R. Behrend, Geneva Observatory, and "T3
Project" (http://asteroidi.uai.it/t3.htm); J. Strajnic, Academie d'Aix-
Marseille; and T. Kmieckowiak and twelve students involved with the "Le Ciel
comme Labo" Project in France report that 2002 VP_94 was observed on 2010
Dec. 10.2 UT with the 0.8-m reflector at Haute-Provence Observatory, noting
that a stack of 93 CCD frames representing 8400 s total exposure time shows
that this object presents a faint 25"-long tail in p.a. 240 deg with a
5"-diameter coma; in the R-band, the object varies by around 0.1 mag (the
period being at least 0.4 day). Following communication from Behrend, H.
Sato (Tokyo, Japan) writes that he obtained CCD images remotely using a
0.50-m f/6.8 reflector at the RAS Observatory (near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) on
Dec. 26.1, showing a condensed coma of size 10" (red mag 16.3) and a 30" tail
toward p.a. 230 degrees. Sato, in turn, requested that K. Kadota (Ageo,
Japan, 0.25-m f/5 reflector) also take CCD images, which Kadota did on Dec.
26.6, showing a coma of diameter 0'.4 (total magnitude 16.6) and a hint of
tail toward the southwest. Also apparently in response to an alert from
Behrend, L. Buzzi (Varese, Italy, 0.38-m f/6.8 reflector) obtained stacks of
CCD images taken under moderate seeing on Dec. 26.7 that show a broad-but-
faint tail at least 20" long in p.a. around 220 deg; a central condensation
is stellar in appearance (same FWHM as nearby stars stars), and there is no
visible coma around it.

Date UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer
2002 Nov. 5.30894 5 13 12.66 +23 56 39.8 18.8 LINEAR
2010 Nov. 15.38777 6 02 18.04 +31 10 33.0 18.3 "

New astrometry, the following elliptical orbital elements by G. V. Williams,
and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2010-Y29.

Epoch = 2010 Dec. 30.0 TT
T = 2011 Jan. 4.1417 TT Peri. = 47.3280
e = 0.625468 Node = 54.1259 2000.0
q = 1.484387 AU Incl. = 13.6819
a = 3.963311 AU n = 0.1249156 P = 7.89 years

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

2010 December 27 (CBET 2606) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

27 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2607

COMET P/2010 WK (LINEAR)

Another apparently asteroidal object discovered by the LINEAR project
(discovery observation tabulated below; first published on MPS 357719) has
also been found to be cometary in appearance by CCD astrometrists. H. Sato,
Tokyo, Japan, observing remotely with a 0.50-m f/6.8 reflector (located at the
RAS Observatory near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) on Dec. 25.4 UT, found a diffuse 15"
coma and no tail; his exposures on Dec. 25.1 suggest that the coma had
apparently expanded to 1' in diameter. K. Kadota (Ageo, Japan, 0.25-m f/5
reflector) found the object to be diffuse with central condensation and a coma
of diameter 0'.8 (total mag 16.0), with no visible tail. After hearing about
the cometary appearance of this object, Luca Buzzi (Varese, Italy) writes that
Enrico Prosperi (Castelmartini, Italy) found the object to be clearly diffuse
in his stack of CCD images taken with his 0.35-m reflector on 12.0. Buzzi
then obtained a series of images on Dec. 26.72 with a 0.38-m f/6.8 reflector
under moderate seeing that showed the object to be diffuse with a 15"-20" coma
but no tail; another series of images taken by Buzzi in better seeing on Dec.
26.8 reveal a 20" round coma and no tail. S. Foglia writes that a 12" round
coma (total red mag 16.2-16.3) is found after stacking five 120-s CCD
exposures taken by S. Baroni, L. Buzzi, P. Concari, G. Galli, M. Tombelli,
and himself remotely with a 0.18-m f/7.3 refractor (located at the Tzec Maun
Observatory near Cloudcroft, NM, U.S.A.) on Dec. 27.3.

2010 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer
Nov. 17.34056 5 20 13.88 +42 50 34.8 18.4 LINEAR

New astrometry, the following elliptical orbital elements by G. V. Williams,
and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2010-Y30.

Epoch = 2010 Oct. 11.0 TT
T = 2010 Oct. 19.6926 TT Peri. = 40.8033
e = 0.692399 Node = 11.5004 2000.0
q = 1.765101 AU Incl. = 11.4812
a = 5.738291 AU n = 0.0717018 P = 13.75 years

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

2010 December 27 (CBET 2607) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

27 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2606

COMET P/2002 VP_94 (LINEAR)

An apparently asteroidal object with a comet-like orbit was discovered in
2002 by the LINEAR project (discovery observation tabulated below), designated
2002 VP_94 (cf. MPEC 2002-V70), and observed then for well over two months.
The object was again found by the LINEAR project on 2010 Nov. 15 (recovery
observation also tabulated below). R. Behrend, Geneva Observatory, and "T3
Project" (http://asteroidi.uai.it/t3.htm); J. Strajnic, Academie d'Aix-
Marseille; and T. Kmieckowiak and twelve students involved with the "Le Ciel
comme Labo" Project in France report that 2002 VP_94 was observed on 2010
Dec. 10.2 UT with the 0.8-m reflector at Haute-Provence Observatory, noting
that a stack of 93 CCD frames representing 8400 s total exposure time shows
that this object presents a faint 25"-long tail in p.a. 240 deg with a
5"-diameter coma; in the R-band, the object varies by around 0.1 mag (the
period being at least 0.4 day). Following communication from Behrend, H.
Sato (Tokyo, Japan) writes that he obtained CCD images remotely using a
0.50-m f/6.8 reflector at the RAS Observatory (near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) on
Dec. 26.1, showing a condensed coma of size 10" (red mag 16.3) and a 30" tail
toward p.a. 230 degrees. Sato, in turn, requested that K. Kadota (Ageo,
Japan, 0.25-m f/5 reflector) also take CCD images, which Kadota did on Dec.
26.6, showing a coma of diameter 0'.4 (total magnitude 16.6) and a hint of
tail toward the southwest. Also apparently in response to an alert from
Behrend, L. Buzzi (Varese, Italy, 0.38-m f/6.8 reflector) obtained stacks of
CCD images taken under moderate seeing on Dec. 26.7 that show a broad-but-
faint tail at least 20" long in p.a. around 220 deg; a central condensation
is stellar in appearance (same FWHM as nearby stars stars), and there is no
visible coma around it.

Date UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer
2002 Nov. 5.30894 5 13 12.66 +23 56 39.8 18.8 LINEAR
2010 Nov. 15.38777 6 02 18.04 +31 10 33.0 18.3 "

New astrometry, the following elliptical orbital elements by G. V. Williams,
and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2010-Y29.

Epoch = 2010 Dec. 30.0 TT
T = 2011 Jan. 4.1417 TT Peri. = 47.3280
e = 0.625468 Node = 54.1259 2000.0
q = 1.484387 AU Incl. = 13.6819
a = 3.963311 AU n = 0.1249156 P = 7.89 years

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

2010 December 27 (CBET 2606) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

27 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2607

COMET P/2010 WK (LINEAR)

Another apparently asteroidal object discovered by the LINEAR project
(discovery observation tabulated below; first published on MPS 357719) has
also been found to be cometary in appearance by CCD astrometrists. H. Sato,
Tokyo, Japan, observing remotely with a 0.50-m f/6.8 reflector (located at the
RAS Observatory near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) on Dec. 25.4 UT, found a diffuse 15"
coma and no tail; his exposures on Dec. 25.1 suggest that the coma had
apparently expanded to 1' in diameter. K. Kadota (Ageo, Japan, 0.25-m f/5
reflector) found the object to be diffuse with central condensation and a coma
of diameter 0'.8 (total mag 16.0), with no visible tail. After hearing about
the cometary appearance of this object, Luca Buzzi (Varese, Italy) writes that
Enrico Prosperi (Castelmartini, Italy) found the object to be clearly diffuse
in his stack of CCD images taken with his 0.35-m reflector on 12.0. Buzzi
then obtained a series of images on Dec. 26.72 with a 0.38-m f/6.8 reflector
under moderate seeing that showed the object to be diffuse with a 15"-20" coma
but no tail; another series of images taken by Buzzi in better seeing on Dec.
26.8 reveal a 20" round coma and no tail. S. Foglia writes that a 12" round
coma (total red mag 16.2-16.3) is found after stacking five 120-s CCD
exposures taken by S. Baroni, L. Buzzi, P. Concari, G. Galli, M. Tombelli,
and himself remotely with a 0.18-m f/7.3 refractor (located at the Tzec Maun
Observatory near Cloudcroft, NM, U.S.A.) on Dec. 27.3.

2010 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer
Nov. 17.34056 5 20 13.88 +42 50 34.8 18.4 LINEAR

New astrometry, the following elliptical orbital elements by G. V. Williams,
and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2010-Y30.

Epoch = 2010 Oct. 11.0 TT
T = 2010 Oct. 19.6926 TT Peri. = 40.8033
e = 0.692399 Node = 11.5004 2000.0
q = 1.765101 AU Incl. = 11.4812
a = 5.738291 AU n = 0.0717018 P = 13.75 years

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

2010 December 27 (CBET 2607) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

28 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2608

SUPERNOVA 2010lo NEAR NGC 4495

Alen Zizak and Filip Novoselnik, on behalf of the La Sagra Sky Survey
(LSSS) Supernova Search Team (which also includes Denis Vida, Ivica Skokic,
David Gostinski, Robert Gregic, Salvador Sanchez, Jaime Nomen, Reiner Stoss,
Bill Yeung, Juan Rodriguez and Miguel Hurtado), report the discovery of an
apparent supernova (magnitude 17.3) on three CCD images (limiting mag about
20.0) taken on Dec. 15.137, 15.146, and 15.156 UT with a 0.45-m telescope.
The new object is located at R.A. = 12h31m23s.67, Decl. = +29d07'34".0
(equinox 2000.0), which is 12".0 east and 37".0 south of the nucleus of the
presumed host galaxy, NGC 4495. Additional approximate magnitudes for 2010lo
(from unfiltered CCD images unless otherwise noted): 1990 Jan. 29.47, [22
(Digitized Sky Survey, red plate); 2010 Mar. 15.935, [20 (LSSS); 2010 Dec.
16.197, 17.3 (LSSS). The LSSS images have been posted (with the red DSS
image on the right) at the following website URL:
http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/3331/ngc4495.png.

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

2010 December 28 (CBET 2608) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

28 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2609

SUPERNOVA 2010ln IN UGC 2685

G. Narayan and G. H. Marion, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
(CfA), on behalf of a larger collaboration, report that a spectrum (range
320-830 nm) of 2010ln (cf. CBET 2605) was obtained on Dec. 28 UT with the Blue
Channel Spectrograph on the 6.5-m MMT telescope. Cross-correlation with a
library of supernova spectra using the "Supernova Identification" code (SNID;
Blondin and Tonry 2007, Ap.J. 666, 1024) shows that 2010ln is a type-Ib
supernova near maximum brightness.

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

2010 December 28 (CBET 2609) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

29 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2610

M31N 2010-01a AND M31N 2010-12c

Kamil Hornoch, Astronomical Institute, Ondrejov, reports measured
positions for the apparent nova in M31 that was designated M31N 2010-12c (cf.
CBETs 2594, 2597), from all available images taken with the 0.65-m telescope
at Ondrejov (four positions), which give the following average astrometry:
R.A. = 0h42m56s.668 +/- 0s.005, Decl. = +41o17'21".23 +/- 0".13 (equinox
2000.0). An average of the position end figures for M31N 2010-01a (cf. CBETs
2124, 2127, 2136, 2187, 2594, 2597), measured from four archival images taken
with the 0.65-m telescope at Ondrejov, 1.23-m telescope at Calar Alto, and
2.4-m Hiltner telescope at MDM yield 56s.728 +/- 0s.005, 21".03 +/- 0".12.
Very similar results gave also averages for other published positions for
the two objects: 56s.660 +/- 0s.015 vs. 56s.735 +/- 0s.023, and 21".30
+/- 0".13 vs. 21".10 +/- 0".20 for R.A. and Decl. end figures, respectively.
Although it is very unlikely that two different novae in M31 will erupt
within 0".8 in only 11 months, the precise positions clearly show that M31N
2010-01a and M31N 2010-12c are two different objects.
Hornoch adds that comparison of high-quality images of M31N 2010-01a
taken by J. Prieto and R. Khan on 2010 Jan. 14.086 UT with the 2.4-m Hiltner
telescope (+ RETROCAM + Sloan r' filter) at MDM observatory and of M31N
2010-12c taken by Khan on 2010 Dec. 26.212 with the same telescope (+ OSMOS
+ R filter) clearly confirms the different locations of the two objects. The
separation of centroids of the two objects is 2.5 pixels (pixel size 0".273).
Additional R-band magnitudes of M31N 2010-12c: Dec. 16.846, 16.62 +/- 0.06
(Hornoch, 0.65-m telescope at Ondrejov); 18.896, 17.18 +/- 0.09 (Hornoch and
P. Hornochova, 0.65-m telescope at Ondrejov); 24.185, 18.6 +/- 0.1 (Khan,
2.4-m Hiltner telescope); 26.190, 18.8 +/- 0.1 (Khan); 26.212, 18.86 +/- 0.07
(Khan).

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

2010 December 29 (CBET 2610) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

29 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2611

POSSIBLE SUPERNOVA NEAR ESO 495-16

Simone Leonini, Siena, Italy, reports the discovery by G. Guerrini and
himself of an possible supernova (mag about 15.6) on an unfiltered CCD image
(limiting mag about 17.6) taken on Dec. 27.991 UT during the Montarrenti
Observatory Supernovae Search program using a 0.53-m f/7.8 Ritchey-Chretien
telescope (+ Apogee Alta U47 CCD camera). The new object is located at R.A.
= 8h32m40s.98, Decl. = -24d02'45".6 (equinox 2000.0), which is 17" south of
the nucleus of the galaxy ESO 495-16. No stellar source is visible at this
position in past images, including one on 2010 Mar. 6.864 (limiting mag about
19.0), and the variable does not appear on Palomar Sky Survey plates from 1982
Apr. 23 (infrared), 1978 Mar. 4 (red, blue; limiting mag 19.5). An image was
obtained on Dec. 29.372 by Joseph Brimacombe, Cairns, Australia, via three
600-s clear-filter images (limiting mag about 19.0) using a robotic 0.51-m
RCOS telescope (+ SBIG STL11K camera) from Mayhill, New Mexico, USA, yielding
red mag about 15.2 and position end figures 41s.08, 46".7 for the variable.
The discovery image of the variable is posted at the following website URL:
http://www.jacopobaldi.it/dati/psn%20in ... 5-016.jpg; the confirming image
is at http://www.jacopobaldi.it/dati/confirma ... 95-016.JPG.

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

2010 December 29 (CBET 2611) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

30 December 2010
IAU Electronic Telegram No.2612

SUPERNOVA 2010lp IN NGC 1137

L. Cox, J. Newton, and T. Puckett report the discovery of an apparent
supernova (mag 16.7) on an unfiltered CCD image (limiting mag 19.1) taken with
a 0.40-m reflector at Portal, AZ, U.S.A., on Dec. 29.16 UT in the course of
the Puckett Observatory Supernova Search. The new object, which was confirmed
at mag 16.7 on Dec. 30.04 by S. Walters, Albrightsville, PA, U.S.A., with a
0.40-m reflector (+ Apogee U16m CCD camera), is located at R.A. =
2h54m03s.50, Decl. = +02o57'43".4 (equinox 2000.0), which is 13".2 east of the
center of NGC 1137. Nothing is visible at this position on images taken by
Puckett on Nov. 19 (limiting mag 19.0).

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

2010 December 30 (CBET 2612) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

14 December 2010
IAU Circular No.9188

(596) SCHEILA

S. M. Larson, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, reports that
images of the main-belt minor planet (596), taken on Dec. 11.44-
11.47 UT with the 0.68-m f/1.8 Schmidt telescope at Catalina, show
the object to be in apparent outburst with a comet-like appearance,
showing a total V magnitude of about 13.4 and an envelope that
extends 2' north and 5' west of the central condensation. As
detailed on CBETs 2583 and 2590, many other observers have
confirmed this comet-like appearance, noting a spiral structure
emanating from the condensed image of the minor planet itself that
appears like some of the spiral outbursts of comet 29P. Alex Gibbs
has looked at recent Catalina images of (596) taken on Oct. 18,
Nov. 2, Nov. 11, and Dec. 3 -- remarking that the object appears
essentially starlike on the first three dates (with the object in
November being at V about 14.5), but that on Dec. 3.4 it shows some
slight diffuseness with V = 13.2.


COMET P/2010 W1 (GIBBS)

A. R. Gibbs, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, reports his
discovery of a comet (discovery observation tabulated below) on
Catalina Sky Survey images obtained with the 0.68-m Schmidt
telescope; four co-added 20-s discovery exposures show a "fuzzy"
coma of diameter 8" (and magnitude 18.1-18.6) with no visible tail
(FWHM larger than nearby stars of similar magnitude). Four
additional co-added 60-s exposures by Gibbs from Nov. 27.25 UT show
the coma size as 11' x 8'.5, elongated in the direction of motion
(p.a. 85 deg), again with no visible tail.

2010 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer
Nov. 27.19184 0 28 06.74 + 2 48 02.9 18.3 Gibbs

This object was identified by T. B. Spahr on the Minor Planet
Center's "Daily Orbit Update" for Nov. 28 (MPEC 2010-W45) with the
following objects that had received minor-planet designations:
1996 TT_65, 2010 MS_75, 2010 RR_59, 2010 RN_141, 2010 SQ_31, and
2010 TL_69. Astrometry, the following elliptical orbital elements
by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2010-X102.

Epoch = 2011 Feb. 8.0 TT
T = 2011 Feb. 8.7360 TT Peri. = 209.9164
e = 0.640494 Node = 207.7835 2000.0
q = 2.146935 AU Incl. = 6.3704
a = 5.971900 AU n = 0.0675360 P = 14.59 years

2010 December 14 (9188) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

17 December 2010
IAU Circular No.9189

COMET C/2010 X1 (ELENIN)

Leonid Elenin (Lyubertsy, Russia) reports his discovery of a
comet on four 240-s unfiltered CCD exposures taken remotely with a
0.45-m f/2.8 astrograph at the ISON-NM observatory near Mayhill,
NM, USA, on Dec. 10.435 UT (discovery observation tabulted below).
After posting on the Minor Planet Center's "NEOCP" webpage, other
cometary astrometrists have noted the object's cometary appearance.
A. Sergeyev (Kharkov, Ukraine) and A. Novichonok (Kondopoga, Russia)
write that four stacked 300-s CCD images taken with a 1.5-m f/8
reflector at the Majdanak Observatory in Uzbekistan on Dec. 11.0
show a teardrop-shaped, very diffuse coma of diameter 6" (total
magnitude 19.1; magnitude of nuclear condensation 20.7) and a tail
of length 10"-12" in p.a. 298 deg. W. H. Ryan obtained R-band CCD
images with the Magdalena Ridge Observatory's 2.4-m f/8.9 reflector
on Dec. 12.47-12.49 that show the object to be diffuse with a tail
in p.a. about 315 deg. R. S. McMillan, J. V. Scotti, and M. L.
Terenzoni report that five 60-s R-band images taken through thin
clouds on Dec. 12.5 with the Steward Observatory 2.3-m f/3 Bok
telescope (+ 90Prime CCD camera) at Kitt Peak in 2" seeing show a
coma diameter of about 7" and a tail extending 10" in p.a. 290 deg.
H. Sato (Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan) obtained CCD images remotely with a
0.50-m f/6.8 reflector at the RAS Observatory near Mayhill on Dec.
12.51 that show an 8" coma and a 45" tail toward p.a. 285 deg.

2010 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer
Dec. 10.41707 11 58 06.29 - 0 34 20.1 19.5 Elenin

The available astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic
orbital elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC
2010-X101. It is possible that this comet is of short period.

T = 2010 Apr. 1.810 TT Peri. = 181.193
Node = 319.659 2000.0
q = 5.15165 AU Incl. = 1.456


COMET P/2010 V1 (IKEYA-MURAKAMI)

Additional astrometry has shown that this comet (cf. IAUCs
9175, 9176, 9183, 9184) is of short period; the following orbital
elements by G. V. Williams are from MPEC 2010-X75: Epoch 2010 Oct.
11.0 TT, T = 2010 Oct. 12.7260 TT, e = 0.481213, q = 1.575188 AU,
Peri. = 152.0519 deg, Node = 3.7787 deg, i = 9.3836 deg (equinox
2000.0), P = 5.29 years.

2010 December 17 (9189) Daniel W. E. Green

[Tikhon]

28 December 2010
IAU Circular No.9190

COMET P/2010 V3 = 2002 VP_94 (LINEAR)

An apparently asteroidal object with a comet-like orbit was
discovered in 2002 by the LINEAR project (discovery observation
tabulated below), designated 2002 VP_94 (cf. MPEC 2002-V70), and
observed then for well over two months. The object was again found
by the LINEAR project on 2010 Nov. 15 (recovery observation also
tabulated below). R. Behrend, Geneva Observatory and "T3 Project";
J. Strajnic, Academie d'Aix-Marseille; and T. Kmieckowiak and
twelve students involved with the "Le Ciel comme Labo" Project in
France report that 2002 VP_94 was observed on 2010 Dec. 10.2 UT
with the 0.8-m reflector at Haute-Provence Observatory, noting that
a stack of 93 CCD frames representing 8400 s total exposure time
shows that this object presents a faint 25"-long tail in p.a. 240
deg with a 5"-diameter coma; in the R-band, the object varies by
around 0.1 mag (the period being at least 0.4 day). Following
communication from Behrend, H. Sato (Tokyo, Japan) writes that he
obtained CCD images remotely using a 0.50-m f/6.8 reflector at the
RAS Observatory (near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) on Dec. 26.1, showing a
condensed coma of size 10" (red mag 16.3) and a 30" tail toward p.a.
230 deg. Sato, in turn, requested that K. Kadota (Ageo, Japan,
0.25-m f/5 reflector) also take CCD images, which Kadota did on Dec.
26.6, showing a coma of diameter 0'.4 (total magnitude 16.6) and a
hint of tail toward the southwest. Also apparently in response to
an alert from Behrend, L. Buzzi (Varese, Italy, 0.38-m f/6.8
reflector) obtained stacks of CCD images taken under moderate
seeing on Dec. 26.7 that show a broad-but-faint tail at least 20"
long in p.a. around 220 deg; a central condensation is stellar in
appearance (same FWHM as nearby stars stars), and there is no
visible coma around it.

2002 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer
Nov. 5.30894 5 13 12.66 +23 56 39.8 18.8 LINEAR

2010 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer
Nov. 15.38777 6 02 18.04 +31 10 33.0 18.3 LINEAR

New astrometry, the following elliptical orbital elements by G. V.
Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2010-Y29.

Epoch = 2010 Dec. 30.0 TT
T = 2011 Jan. 4.1417 TT Peri. = 47.3280
e = 0.625468 Node = 54.1259 2000.0
q = 1.484387 AU Incl. = 13.6819
a = 3.963311 AU n = 0.1249156 P = 7.89 years

2010 December 28 (9190) Daniel W. E. Green