Comet Images by Faulkes & Liverpool Telescopes

Below you can find a selection of some of the comets we imaged in the last 2 weeks using the 2-meter telescopes of Faulkes (F65 & E10 MPC codes) and the La Palma-Liverpool (J13 MPC code). Click on each image for a bigger version.

Prompted by an alert of A. Diepvens on comet-images mailing list, on January 03 we perfomed some follow-up of C/2010 G2 (Hill); we confirm that this comet was experiencing a bright phase. Co-adding of 9 unfiltered exposures, 15 seconds each, obtained remotely from the Siding Spring-Faulkes Telescope South on 2012, January 03.46 through a 2.0-m f/10.0 Ritchey-Chretien + CCD  reveals the comet as a bright featureless star-like object of magnitude 13.2 N
  

C/2010 G2 (Hill)  - 2012, January 03

C/2010 G2 (Hill)  - 2011, December 22 - 2012 January 10

C/2009 F4 (McNaught) - 2012, January 03

Comet 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann - 2012, January 11

Comet 244P/Scotti - 2012, January 11

Comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux - 2012, January 11

Comet P/2011 W2 (RINNER) - 2012, January 11

Comet 164P/Christensen - 2012, January 11

by Ernesto Guido, Nick Howes & Giovanni Sostero

New Comet: P/2011 W2 (RINNER)

Cbet nr.2922, issued on 2011, November 29, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude 17.9) by Claudine Rinner on CCD images obtained on November 28, 2011 taken with a 0.5-m f/3 reflector located at the Oukaimeden Observatory near Marrakech, Morocco. The new comet has been designated P/2011 W2 (RINNER).

We performed some follow-up measurements of this object, while it was still on the neocp. Stacking of 14 unfiltered exposures, 120-sec each, obtained remotely, from the GRAS Observatory (near Mayhill, NM) on 2011, November 29.3, through a 0.25-m, f/3.4 reflector + CCD, shows that this object is a comet: diffuse coma nearly 15-arcsec in diameter.

Our confirmation image (click on the image for a bigger version):

M.P.E.C. 2011-W80 assignes the following preliminary orbital elements to comet P/2011 W2: T 2011 Oct. 10.62; e= 0.51; Peri. = 210.50; q = 2.32 AU; Incl.= 14.20

Congratulations to Claudine Rinner for this new amateur comet discovery!!

by Ernesto Guido, Giovanni Sostero & Nick Howes