Comet P/2010 v3 = 2002 VP_94 (linear)

An apparently asteroidal object with a comet-like orbit was discovered in 2002 by the LINEAR project (discovery observation tabulated below), designated 2002 VP_94 (cf. MPEC 2002-V70), and observed then for well over two months. The object was again found by the LINEAR project on 2010 Nov. 15 (recovery observation also tabulated below). R. Behrend, Geneva Observatory and "T3 Project"; J. Strajnic, Academie d'Aix-Marseille; and T. Kmieckowiak and twelve students involved with the "Le Ciel comme Labo" Project in France report that 2002 VP_94 was observed on 2010 Dec. 10.2 UT with the 0.8-m reflector at Haute-Provence Observatory, noting that a stack of 93 CCD frames representing 8400 s total exposure time shows that this object presents a faint 25"-long tail in p.a. 240 deg with a 5"-diameter coma; in the R-band, the object varies by around 0.1 mag (the period being at least 0.4 day). Following communication from Behrend, H. Sato (Tokyo, Japan) writes that he obtained CCD images remotely using a 0.50-m f/6.8 reflector at the RAS Observatory (near Mayhill, NM, U.S.A.) on Dec. 26.1, showing a condensed coma of size 10" (red mag 16.3) and a 30" tail toward p.a. 230 deg. Sato, in turn, requested that K. Kadota (Ageo, Japan, 0.25-m f/5 reflector) also take CCD images, which Kadota did on Dec. 26.6, showing a coma of diameter 0'.4 (total magnitude 16.6) and a hint of tail toward the southwest. Also apparently in response to an alert from Behrend, L. Buzzi (Varese, Italy, 0.38-m f/6.8 reflector) obtained stacks of CCD images taken under moderate seeing on Dec. 26.7 that show a broad-but-faint tail at least 20" long in p.a. around 220 deg; a central condensation is stellar in appearance (same FWHM as nearby stars stars), and there is no visible coma around it. 2002 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer Nov. 5.30894 5 13 12.66 +23 56 39.8 18.8 LINEAR 2010 UT R.A. (2000) Decl. Mag. Observer Nov. 15.38777 6 02 18.04 +31 10 33.0 18.3 LINEAR New astrometry, the following elliptical orbital elements by G. V. Williams, and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2010-Y29. Epoch = 2010 Dec. 30.0 TT T = 2011 Jan. 4.1417 TT Peri. = 47.3280 e = 0.625468 Node = 54.1259 2000.0 q = 1.484387 AU Incl. = 13.6819 a = 3.963311 AU n = 0.1249156 P = 7.89 years