Electronic Telegram No. 3239
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 S2 (LA SAGRA)
     J. Nomen reports the discovery of a comet in the course of the "La Sagra
Sky Survey" with a 0.45-m f/2.8 reflector (discovery observation tabulated
below); the observers listed were S. Sanchez, J. Nomen, M. Hurtado, J. A.
Jaume, W. K. Y. Yeung, P. Rios, F. Serra, and T. Valls, and the object was
described as showing a small east-west elongation to the dense coma of size
4"-6".  After posting on the Minor Planet Center's NEOCP webpage, other CCD
astrometrists also have commented on the object's cometary appearance.  H.
Sato (Tokyo, Japan; remotely using a 0.43-m f/6.8 astrograph at the RAS
Observatory near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) reports that images taken on Sept. 24.3
UT show a 12"-diameter coma that was strongly condensed with a hint of tail
10" long toward p.a. 250 degrees.  T. H. Bressi writes that three stacked 92-s
images obtained with the Spacewatch 1.8-m f/2.7 reflector on Sept. 26.3 show
a tail 11" long in p.a. approximately 250 degrees.

     2012 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Sept.23.07007    4 55 01.10   +17 03 43.7   18.0
          23.08666    4 55 02.79   +17 03 55.4   17.8
          23.15005    4 55 09.06   +17 04 43.1   18.1
          23.15178    4 55 09.23   +17 04 44.5   18.2
          23.15352    4 55 09.40   +17 04 45.8   18.0
          23.15523    4 55 09.55   +17 04 47.0   18.2
          23.15870    4 55 09.91   +17 04 49.7   18.0
          23.16044    4 55 10.07   +17 04 50.9   18.1
          23.17689    4 55 11.70   +17 05 03.2   18.2
          23.18395    4 55 12.40   +17 05 08.7   18.0
          23.19444    4 55 13.42   +17 05 16.2   18.1

The available astrometry, the following preliminary elliptical orbital
elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-S79.

     T = 2012 Aug. 19.0642 TT         Peri. = 312.3045
     e = 0.712042                     Node  =  52.8658  2000.0
     q = 1.378829 AU                  Incl. =   8.6646
       a =  4.788308 AU    n = 0.0940656    P =  10.48 years


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      superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars.

                         (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT
2012 September 27                (CBET 3239)              Daniel W. E. Green