Comet C/2013 B2 (Catalina)

An apparently asteroidal object discovered on images taken by J. A.

Johnson with the Catalina Sky Survey's 0.68-m Schmidt telescope

(discovery observations tabulated below), and posted on the Minor Planet

Center's NEOCP webpage, has been found to show cometary appearance by CCD

astrometrists elsewhere. William H. Ryan (Magdalena Ridge Observatory,

2.4-m f/8.9 reflector) writes that the object's point-spread function was

consistently greater than that of nearby field stars in R-band images

taken on Jan. 16.34- 16.37 and 17.1 UT; there was a trace of a tail in

p.a. 270 deg on the second night. E. Guido, Castellammare di Stabia,

Italy, communicates that twenty-two stacked 50-s R-band exposures taken

remotely by P. Benson, C. Everall, N. Howes, A. Tripp, and himself on

Jan. 23.5 with the 2.0-m f/10 "Faulkes Telescope North" at Haleakala show

the object to be slightly diffuse when compared to nearby field stars of

similar brightness, with an elongation toward p.a. 220 deg; the object's

magnitude was measured to be 18.5-18.9. 2013 UT R.A.

(2000) Decl. Mag. Observer Jan. 16.23384 7 33 36.54 +65

48 02.2 18.9 Johnson 16.23935 7 33 35.89 +65 48 00.1

19.4 " 16.24490 7 33 35.38 +65 47 58.0 19.4 "

16.25039 7 33 35.02 +65 47 56.0 19.5 " The available

astrometry, the following preliminary parabolic orbital elements by G. V.

Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2013-B84. T = 2013 June

30.5906 TT Peri. = 156.1431

Node = 331.7963 2000.0 q = 3.753316 AU Incl. =

43.5623