267P/LONEOS |
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Past, Present, and Future Orbits by Kazuo Kinoshita |
![]() Copyright © 2006 by M. Jager and G. Rhemann
This image was acquired on 2006 September 23. Three 5-minute exposures were obtained with an 8-inch reflector and a CCD camera. Discovery The Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search (LONEOS) survey program (Arizona, USA) discovered this apparently asteroidal object on 2006 August 29.27; however, the object soon displayed a cometary appearance. P. Birtwhistle (Great Shefford, Berkshire, U.K., 0.40-m f/6 Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector) reported that his stack of images (total exposure time 44 min) from Aug. 29.9 UT showed that the object had a 9"-diameter coma (FWHM 4".7) and a faint tail about 30" long (initially in p.a. 180 deg but then curving back after 7" in p.a. 230 deg). Other observations arrived from L.Buzzi, G.Sostero, E.Guido, J.Young, R.Miles, and C.Jacques. The magnitude was given around 18-18.5.
Historical Highlights
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