NOVA SAGITTARII 2009 No. 4

Cbet circular No. 1994, issued on 2009 Oct. 26, announces the discovery by K. Nishiyama and F. Kabashima of an apparent new Nova (mag 9.3) on images taken with a 105-mm f/4 camera lens in the course of their nova survey. Nothing is visible on their two recent survey frames taken on 20 & 21 October 2009 (limiting magnitude 13.9).

On our images taken on October 27.09 through a 0.25-m, f/3.4 reflector + CCD, near Mayhill (NM), we can confirm the presence of an optical counterpart with unfiltered CCD magnitude about 9.0 (USNO-B1 Catalogue reference stars) at coordinates:

R.A. = 18 31 32.81, Decl.= -16 19 07.5
(equinox 2000.0; USNO-B1 catalogue reference stars).

Our image of this transient:

by Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero

Alan Young Award 2009

We have just received news that our team members Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero have been awarded the 2009 "Alan Young" Award by the readers of "The Astronomer" magazine. TA is a magazine for the advanced amateur with the "aim to publish all observations of astronomical interest as soon as possible after they are made". The magazine has been published monthly since 1964 and subscribers are found all over the world.

The award is in memory of the late Alan Young.

Congratulations to Ernesto & Giovanni!!!

The Team

Netherlands Fireball - October 13, 2009

A bright fireball has been reported to streak across the sky in the Netherlands by many observers at approximately 1658 UT on Oct. 13th. The bolide breaks apart into a half-dozen fragments, and a trail in the sky remained visible for many minutes.

(Credit: Jan de Vries)

(Credit: Robert Mikaelyan, The Netherlands)

(Credit: Maciej Libert, The Netherlands)

According to Spaceweather website: "Royal Dutch Meteorology Institute listening post detected strong infrasound (low-frequency sound) waves, apparently confirming a high-altitude breakup event". More images of both the fireball and the trail can be seen here.

Several thousand meteors of fireball magnitude occur in the Earth's atmosphere each day. Most occur over the oceans and uninhabited regions and many are masked by daylight. The brighter the fireball, the more rare is the even.

by Ernesto Guido

New Comet Discovery: P/2009 QG31

IAU circular No. 9078, issued on 2009, Sept. 29, announces that an asteroidal object, discovered with a 0.45-m f/2.8 reflector + CCD by the "La Sagra Sky Survey" (Spain), has been reported to show cometary features by several observers, involved in its astrometric follow-up.

Our attention to this object with a peculiar orbit, has been drawn by one member of the "La Sagra" staff (R. Stoss, 2009 Sept. 10, private communication). Then we planned an observing campaign, asking some help to other fellow observers of the CARA collaboration (namely, P. Bacci, E. Bryssinck and R. Ligustri).

Our first attempt to investigate about the nature of this object, simply failed: the images obtained on 2009, Sept. 14, remotely from the Mayhill Station (NM) of the GRAS network, were of bad quality due to the presence of thin cyrrus clouds. Then, for several nights, bad weather conditions prevented us to perform further follow-up on it.

Finally, on Sept. 18.5, we succeed imaging it remotely with the 0.35-m f/7 reflector + CCD of the "Skylive" network (near Trunkey, Australia). At that time, the object was nearly 70 deg above the horizon, and the very good seeing allowed us to identify its tiny round coma, about 7-arcsec in diameter, having a total (unfiltered R) magnitude of about 19:

Further confirming observations were performed by other fellow observers we alerted, like the CARA memebers E. Bryssinck (remotely through the Tzec Maun 0.4-m reflector, NM, Sept. 16.3) and R. Ligustri (Talmassons, Italy, 0.35-m reflector; Sept. 19.9), who reported a coma ranging from 10 to 15-arcsec in diameter.

Other indipendent positive detections of cometary features on this object were performed by observers operating professional telescopes, like A. F. Tubbiolo and R. S. McMillan (Spacewatch 1.8-m reflector, Sept. 12.3), F. Hormuth (Calar Alto 3.5-m telescope, Sept. 17.9) and G. Muler (2-m Faulkes Telescope North, Sept. 18.4), that described a 10-15-arcsec diffuse coma.

According to the Minor Planet Center's database, this low-activity, Jupiter-family comet, completes a revolution around the Sun every 6.8 years, with a perihelion at about 2.1 Au from our star (that will be reached in Oct. 2009), and an aphelion at 5.0 AU; inclination above the ecliptic plane is about 5 deg. It's future visibility will be complicated by its declining brightness.

Congratulations to the "La Sagra Sky Survey" team for their discovery.

by G. Sostero, E. Guido, P. Camilleri, M. Jaeger, W. Vollmann, and E. Prosperi

New Comet Discovery: P/2009 S2 (McNAUGHT)

IAUC nr. 9075, issued on 2009 Sept. 24th, announces the discovery of another comet by Robert McNaught, named P/2009 S2. This object has been picked-up by McNaught on 2009, Sept.20.7 in the southern constellation of Fornax, at about magnitude 19.

We performed some follow-up of this target remotely on 2009, Sept. 24.36 with a 0.25-m, f/3.4 reflector + CCD (near Mayhill, NM). Stacking of 15 unfiltered exposures, 120-seconds each, showed a coma nearly 10" in diameter, remarkably elongated in the same direction of a narrow tail, that was measured to be about 14" long in p.a. 255 deg.

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

Preliminaty orbital elements and ephemerids of this periodic comet have been published on M.P.E.C. 2009-S90. Perihelion has been reached on June, 2009, at about 2.2 AU from the Sun. The orbit has an inclination of 28 degrees and is completed in nearly 8.5 years. P/2009 S2 will mostly remain a faint southern comet for the rest of the current perihelium passage.

by Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero

New discovered PHA: 2009 ST19

This minor planet, belonging to the "Apollo" class, is also flagged as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid", an object that, because of its orbital parameters, might represent a possible threat of impact for planet Earth.

It has beeen discovered serendipitously by the Spanish amateur astronomer J. M. Bosch (Santa Maria de Montmagastrell, MPC#B74) on 2009, Sept. 16.2, ay magnitude about 17. At that time it was posted on the NEO-CP webpage of the Minor Planet Center as "jmbo11"; after a couple of days it was withdrawn, because it was not confirmed by any further observations.

On 2009, Sept. 22, the LINEAR sky survey picked-up a fast moving object, that was posted in the NEO-CP as "BQ24981". After some follow-up observations from various sites, on 2009 Sept. 23 the MPC published M.P.E.C. 2009-S72 informing that the two objects mentioned before were actually the same celestial body.

 
We performed some follow-up of this object on 2009, Sept.23.1, remotely from the Mayhill Station (NM) of the GRAS network. Click on the image below for a bigger version.

 

According to the NEODyS webpage this object. about 0.5-Km in diameter, made a close pass to Earth on 1980, Oct. 4, at a minimum possible distance of about 0.009 AU (nominal distance of about 0.04 AU).

Congratulations to J. M. Bosch for his find.

E. Guido, G. Sostero, P. Camilleri, M. Jaeger, E. Prosperi, W. Vollmann

New Comet Discovery: P/2009 S1 (Gibbs)

IAU Circular nr. 9074 issued on 2009, Sep. 22, announces the discovery of a new comet by A. R. Gibbs, named P/2009 S1 (Gibbs). It was found on Sep. 20 in the course of the Catalina Sky Survey with the Catalina 0.68-m Schmidt telescope. After posting on the Minor Planet Center's 'NEOCP' webpage, other observers have noted the cometary appearance of this 18.5 - 19 magnitude object.

We have been able to confirm this object remotely, through the GRAS network, using a scope located in Mayhill (NM): on 2009, September 21.4, co-adding of 14 unfiltered exposures, 120 seconds each, obtained by means of a 0.25-m, f/3.4 reflector + CCD, show a condensed coma nearly 8" in diameter and a broad tail about 20" long in p.a. 260 deg.

Our image:

The preliminary orbit for comet P/2009 S1 (Gibbs) indicates perihelion already on Jul. 25, 2009, at about 2.4 AU: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/mpec/K09/K09S70.html

This is the 13th comet discovery for Gibbs.

by Ernesto Guido & Giovanni Sostero