Comet Wild (1990a)

Further precise positions have been reported as follows: 1990 UT R.A. (1950) Decl. m1 Observer Jan. 21.68750 9 34 42.81 +20 38 31.6 14.0 Niijima 21.71806 9 34 41.53 +20 38 39.9 " 25.46128 9 32 10.75 +20 52 56.4 14.0 Helin 25.48073 9 32 09.82 +20 52 58.8 " T. Niijima and T. Urata (Ojima, Japan). 0.16-m hyperboloid astrocamera. Measurer Urata. Prediscovery observations communicated by H. Kosai. E. Helin, B. Roman and K. Lawrence (Palomar). Measurer J. Alu. The following parabolic orbital elements satisfy the above observations very closely, but it is likely that the comet is of short period: T = 1990 July 16.08 ET Peri. = 212.03 Node = 9.40 1950.0 q = 1.3972 AU Incl. = 4.61 1990 ET R.A. (1950) Decl. Delta r m1 Jan. 9 9 40.66 +19 57.5 1.994 2.867 14.6 14 9 38.80 +20 12.1 19 9 36.31 +20 28.8 1.829 2.764 14.2 24 9 33.20 +20 47.3 29 9 29.51 +21 06.9 1.689 2.661 13.9 Feb. 3 9 25.31 +21 27.1 8 9 20.69 +21 46.9 1.576 2.559 13.6 13 9 15.77 +22 05.7 18 9 10.68 +22 22.6 1.492 2.456 13.3 S. M. Larson and D. H. Levy, University of Arizona, report that 300-850-nm CCD spectra obtained on Jan. 25.32 UT with the Catalina 1.5-m reflector show a strong continuum but no cometary emissions. Broad red-band images show a broad, well-defined tail extending off the CCD frame 4' from the central condensation. Total visual magnitude estimates: Jan. 24.54 UT, 13.5 (A. Pearce, Scarborough, Western Australia, 0.32-m reflector); 25.26, 12.8 (A. Hale, Las Cruces, NM, 0.41-m reflector).