IAU circular No. 9170, issued on September 24, 2010, announces the discovery by the LINEAR survey of an apparently asteroidal object found to show cometary appearance by other CCD astrometrists. The discovery observation was obtained by LINEAR on Sept. 21.3 UT with a 1.0-m f/2.15 reflector + CCD. After posting on the Minor Planet Center's NEOCP webpage, some observers have commented on the cometary appearance of this 18 magnitude object, designated C/2010 S1 (LINEAR).
We have been able to confirm this object remotely, through the GRAS network, using a scope located in Mayhill (NM): 0.25-m, f/3.4 reflector + CCD.: on Sept. 24.3, co-adding of 18 unfiltered exposures, 120-seconds each, show that this object appears soft compared to nearby field stars of similar brightness with a slight elongation in the east-west direction.
Our confirming image (click on the image for a bigger version):
The preliminary orbit for comet C/2010 S1 (LINEAR) shows perihelion on May 09, 2013, at about 4.4 AU.
According to COCD website, this is the 199th comet discovery for LINEAR.
by Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero
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