IAU circular No. 9146, issued on 2010, May 13, announces the discovery by R. S. McMillan of a new comet on May 12, 2010, with the Spacewatch 0.9-m f/3 reflector at Kitt Peak. After posting on the Minor Planet Center's NEOCP webpage, many observers have commented on the cometary appearance of this 17.5 magnitude object, designated C/2010 J3 (MCMILLAN).
We have been able to confirm this object remotely, through a 0.18-m refractor, f/7.3 + CCD at Tzec Maun Observatory near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.: on 2010, May 12.4, co-adding of 10 unfiltered exposures, 180-seconds each, show a compact coma about 12" in diameter, with a sharp central condensation; broad tail nearly 20" long toward PA 265 deg.
Our confirming image:
The first and preliminary parabolic orbit for comet C/2010 J3 (MCMILLAN) indicates perihelion Sept. 28, 2010, at about 2.2 AU.
by G. Sostero, E. Guido, L. Donato
need current magnitude for this
ReplyDeletecomet. HG
You can find the latest ccd magnitude estimates on the discovery mpec:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/3747gxb
Hope this can help you.
Ciao,
Ernesto
cool pictures
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