New Comet: C/2013 P2 (PANSTARRS)

August 09, 2013
Cbet nr. 3621, issued on 2013, August 07, announces the discovery of an apparently asteroidal object (discovery magnitude ~19.5) by professional survey F51 Pan-STARRS 1 (Haleakala) on CCD images obtained with 1.8-m Ritchey-Chretien on August 04, 2013 (pre-discovery Pan-STARRS1 observations from July 26 were found later by P. Veres).

After posting on the Minor Planet Center's NEOCP webpage, this apparently asteroidal object as been found to show cometary features by astrometric observers elsewhere (including our team). The new comet has been designated C/2013 P2 (PANSTARRS).

We performed follow-up measurements of this object, while it was still on the neocp. Stacking of 30 R-filtered exposures, 40-sec each, obtained remotely from iTelescope network (MPC code H06, New Mexico) on 2013, August 06.3, through a 0.43-m f/6.8 astrograph + CCD + f/4.5 focal reducer, shows that this object is a comet: coma about 5" in diameter elongated in PA 120.

M.P.E.C. 2013-P42 assigns the following preliminary parabolic orbital elements to comet C/2013 P2: T 2014 Feb. 17.50; e= 1.0;  Peri. = 105.19; q = 2.83;  Incl.= 125.54

by Ernesto Guido & Nick Howes

Source:
http://remanzacco.blogspot.ch/2013/08/new-comet-c2013-p2-panstarrs.html