Circular No. 8208
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Mailstop 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions)
CBAT@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science)
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Phone 617-495-7440/7244/7444 (for emergency use only)


COMET P/2003 S1 (NEAT)
     M. Hicks, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), reports the
discovery of a comet on CCD images obtained via the NEAT project
with the Haleakala 1.2-m telescope (discovery observation below),
noting the object to be slightly diffuse with a slight elongation
to the west on images taken on Sept. 23.6 and 24.5 UT.  Following
posting on the NEO Confirmation Page, P. Birthwhistle, Great
Shefford, U.K., reported that his CCD images taken with a 0.30-m
reflector on Sept. 24.0 show a coma with diameter about 10" offset
toward the southwest with a possible 30" tail in p.a. approximately
250 deg.  J. Mahony, Lafayette, IN, communicates that his images
with a 0.30-m Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector on Sept. 24.2 show a
diffuse coma and a tail about 10" long in p.a. 250 deg.  S. D.
Gillam, JPL, obtained confirming images with the 0.6-m telescope at
Table Mountain on Sept. 24.2, showing a coma of diameter
approximately 10" with mag R = 18.3.  Images taken with the 1.06-m
KLENOT telescope at Klet by M. Tichy on Sept. 24.9 show a tail in
p.a. 260 deg.

     2003 UT             R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.
     Sept.23.60194    0 35 19.01   +11 37 32.4   18.8

The available astrometry (including LINEAR prediscovery
observations from Sept. 4.3 and 20.3), the following elliptical
orbital elements, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2003-S59.

     T = 2004 Mar. 25.984 TT          Peri. = 175.232
     e = 0.42790                      Node  = 241.130   2000.0
     q = 2.60068 AU                   Incl. =   5.937
       a =  4.54586 AU     n = 0.101690     P =   9.69 years


SUPERNOVA 2003ii IN MCG +06-6-53
     Further to IAUC 8205, T. Boles reports the discovery of an
apparent supernova (mag 18.4) on unfiltered CCD images taken on
Sept. 23.030 and 23.922 UT.  The new object is located at R.A. =
2h33m04s.80, Decl. = +35o30'29".7 (equinox 2000.0), which is
approximately 8".1 east and 2".1 north of the center of MCG
+06-6-53.  SN 2003ii is not present on Boles' images from Aug. 14
and Sept. 2 (limiting mag 19.5), and it is not present on Palomar
Sky Survey red (1986) or blue (1987) plates.

                      (C) Copyright 2003 CBAT
2003 September 24              (8208)            Daniel W. E. Green