Copyright©1998 by Akimasa Nakamura (Kuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory, Japan)

This CCD image was taken on 1998 September 16, using a 0.60-m f/6 Ritchey-Chretien telescope.

      This object was initially discovered in the course of the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search (LONEOS). E. Bowell reported the object as an ordinary minor planet after it appeared on images obtained by W. D. Ferris on 1998 August 27 and 28. The magnitude of the stellar object was given as 17.1.
      Roy A. Tucker (Tucson, Arizona) discovered this object in the course of his CCD asteroid-astrometry program with a 0.36-m Schmidt-Cassegrain at the Goodricke-Pigott Observatory on September 13.21. Tucker reported the object was a comet with a nuclear magnitude of 16.7.
      Gareth V. Williams (Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams) immediately identified Tucker's comet with the object found by LONEOS and even found an additional observation for August 28 on data received from another minor planet search program known as LINEAR. Information was subsequently placed on the Central Bureau's NEO Confirmation Page. The result was a quick confirmation of the cometary nature by J. Ticha (Klet Observatory) and L. Sarounova (Ondrejov Observatory) on September 13.79 and 13.87, respectively. Ticha said there was a faint coma about 17 arcsec across, as well as a tail extending 35 arcsec towards PA 226°. Sarounova was able to detect a narrow tail extending 5 arcmin toward PA 135°, as well as a small coma.

• Because of the identification of the LONEOS "minor planet" and Tucker's comet by Williams, the initial discovery announcement not only included an orbit, but an elliptical orbit as Brian G. Marsden (Central Bureau) determined the comet moved in a short-period orbit with a period of about 8.7 years. He added that the perihelion date would occur on 1998 October 6. A later revision of the orbit using several months of observations revealed a perihelion date of October 6.38 and a period of 8.61 years.

1998 December 14--0.9-m Spacewatch telescope Copyright © 1998 by James V. Scotti       This image was taken by James V. Scotti (Spacewatch) on 1998 December 14. He used a 0.9-m Spacewatch telescope. The image measures 3.5 by 3.2 arcmin, with north at the top and west to the right.