Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro
Abstract
H. H. Hsieh, University of Hawaii, reports that r'-band observations taken on June 4 (total exposure time 1800 sec; queue observer M. Pohlen) and June 14 (total exposure time 1800 sec; queue observer A. Matulonis) with the 8.1-m Gemini North Observatory, and R-band observations (total exposure time 360 sec) taken on June 12 with the 10-m Keck I telescope, show that comet 133P is currently active. The object's nucleus appears point-source-like in all composite images from each night with point-spread functions having FWHMs of 1".1 on June 4, 0".8 on June 12, and 0".8 on June 14, identical to the typical FWHMs of nearby stellar sources on those nights. However, a thin linear dust tail, similar in morphology to the dust tails observed in the past for this object, extending as far as 50 arcsec from the nucleus in the projected direction (p.a. about 250 degrees) of the anti-solar vector on the sky (which also coincides with the projected direction of the negative heliocentric-velocity vector on the sky) is visible in all images.
- Publication:
-
Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams
- Pub Date:
- June 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013CBET.3564....1H