Observation by Nick James: A possible new outbursting comet?

Uploaded by

Nick James

Observer

Nick James

Observed

2026 Oct 13 - 19:57

Uploaded

2026 Oct 13 - 22:47

Equipment

ASI6200MM + Celestron HD11

Exposure

20x60s

Location

Chelmsford

Target name

A11InDq

Title

A possible new outbursting comet?

About this image

This is an interesting object currently on the NEOCP. It is quite bright (mag 15) but far away (3.5 au) and it has an orbit that is consistent with it being a comet (e=1 from an arc of 1 day with RMS residuals 0".25). It has been well placed for discovery for a while so its sudden appearance indicates that it might be in outburst. It doesn't look very cometary at the moment but if it is in the early stages of an outburst it will take some time for the coma to appear. It is definitely worth observing. I'll post updates on the Comet Section mailing list.

Attached is an ephemeris based on a 1 day arc. It should be good for a few days. It is for my observatory (970) but the object is a long way away so parallax will not be significant. It is currently an evening object, just south of the celestial equator.

Files associated with this observation

A11InDq_20261013_195722_ndj.jpg (850.8 kB)
A11InDq.htm (39.1 kB)

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Dominic Ford

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