Electronic Telegram No. 3251 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 P/2012 SB_6 (LEMMON) An apparently asteroidal object discovered on images taken by R. A. Kowalski in the course of the Mount Lemmon Survey (discovery observations tabulated below), and designated 2012 SB_6 by the Minor Planet Center, has been found to show cometary appearance by observers elsewhere. Henry Hsieh notes that images taken with the Pan-STARRS1 telescope on Oct. 8.42-8.49 UT show a point-spread function that is extended relative to the PSF of nearby field stars. David J. Tholen and Marco Micheli write that three 120-s follow-up images taken on Oct. 9.5 UT by Micheli and Garrett T. Elliott with the 2.24-m University of Hawaii reflector at Mauna Kea show a tail about 7" long in p.a. about 225 deg. 2012 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer Sept.17.42391 1 06 54.79 + 6 46 42.9 19.3 Kowalski 17.43255 1 06 54.50 + 6 46 44.4 19.3 " 17.44119 1 06 54.10 + 6 46 45.5 19.1 " 17.44980 1 06 53.82 + 6 46 46.8 19.1 " The available astrometry (including prediscovery Catalina Sky Survey images from Sept. 14), the following elliptical orbital elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2012-T33. Epoch = 2012 Nov. 9.0 TT T = 2012 Oct. 31.3758 TT Peri. = 12.6072 e = 0.384607 Node = 9.5539 2000.0 q = 2.406080 AU Incl. = 10.9809 a = 3.909829 AU n = 0.1274874 P = 7.73 years NOTE: These 'Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams' are sometimes superseded by text appearing later in the printed IAU Circulars. (C) Copyright 2012 CBAT 2012 October 9 (CBET 3251) Daniel W. E. Green