During the 2-month period January through February 2019, 14 new comets were discovered. Moreover inner main-belt minor planet (6478) GAULT developed a lengthening tail or trail. "Current comet magnitudes" & "Daily updated asteroid flybys" pages are available at the top of this blog (or just click on the underline text here). See below for the "Other news" section.
The dates below refer to the date of issuance of CBET (Central Bureau Electronic Telegram) which reported the official news & designations.
- Comet Discoveries
Jan 02 Discovery of P/2018 Y2 (AFRICANO) (CBET 4590)
Jan 07 Discovery of P/2019 A1 (PANSTARRS) (CBET 4591)
Jan 08 Discovery of P/2019 A2 (ATLAS) (CBET 4595)
Jan 10 Discovery of P/2019 A3 (PANSTARRS) (CBET 4598)
Jan 17 Discovery of P/2019 A4 (PANSTARRS) (CBET 4600)
Jan 17 Discovery of C/2019 A5 (PANSTARRS) (CBET 4601)
Jan 17 Discovery of P/2019 A6 (LEMMON-PANSTARRS) (CBET 4602)
Jan 23 Discovery of C/2019 B1 (AFRICANO) (CBET 4604)
Jan 23 Discovery of P/2019 A7 (PANSTARRS) (CBET 4605)
Feb 04 Discovery of P/2018 V5 (TRUJILLO-SHEPPARD) (CBET 4607)*
Feb 04 Discovery of P/2019 A8 (PANSTARRS) (CBET 4608)
Feb 04 Discovery of P/2019 B2 (GROELLER) (CBET 4609)
Feb 07 Discovery of C/2019 A9 (PANSTARRS) (CBET 4610)
Feb 27 Discovery of C/2019 B3 (PANSTARRS) (CBET 4611)
* S. Sheppard reported that this object showed a ~9" tail in P.A. 276 on 2018 Nov. 7 and a 19" tail in P.A. 277 on 2019 Jan. 8. The comet was detected by C. Trujillo on images taken by Sheppard. R. Weryk reported prediscovery images that showed the object with a 1".3 FWHM (compared to 1".10 +/- 0".05 for nearby stars) on 2017 Oct. 28.
- Other news
Jan 07 CBET 4592, CBET 4593 (Jan 08), CBET 4596 (Jan 09), CBET 4599 (Jan 16) report that the following minor planets are binaries systems: (2337) BOUBIN, 2016 AZ_8, (7393) LUGINBUHL & (2070) HUMASON
Jan 08 CBET 4594 (issued on 2019, January 08) announces the serendipitous discovery by the "Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System" (ATLAS) team of unusual activity associated with the inner main-belt minor planet (6478) which appears to have developed a lengthening tail or trail.
by Ernesto Guido
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI have recently discovered your blog and like your updates about comets and asteroids. You do a really good job! I will follow your blog to get updates for new comets. :)
Greetings, Tam from Tales from Centauri
Dear Tam, thanks for your kind words. Appreciated! In the meantime new comets & asteroids summary for March & April 2019 is now out. Enjoy and good luck for your blog.
ReplyDeleteCiao,
Ernesto