Circular No. 6696
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Mailstop 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
IAUSUBS@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or FAX 617-495-7231 (subscriptions)
BMARSDEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU or DGREEN@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science)
URL http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/cbat.html
Phone 617-495-7244/7440/7444 (for emergency use only)


GRB 970616
     A. Dey, Kitt Peak National Observatory; and D. Stern and A. Bunker,
University of California at Berkeley, report: "A spectrum of the optical
transient identified by Galama et al. (IAUC 6687) in the field of
GRB 970616 was obtained using the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph
(LRIS) on the Keck II Telescope on July 2.58 UT.  This reveals the object
to be a late-type M dwarf.  Comparison with the atlas by Kirkpatrick
et al. (1991, Ap.J. Suppl. 77, 417) suggests a spectral type of M8.5V-M9V.
No H-alpha emission is observed.  LRIS images obtained on July 1.60 UT
in a 2".5-aperture diaphragm yield R = 24.5 +/- 0.2, I = 21.1 +/- 0.1."


COMET C/1996 B2 (HYAKUTAKE)
     M. J. Mumma and V. A. Krasnopolsky, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center;
and M. Abbott, Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics, Berkeley,
report: "We searched for soft x-ray radiation from comet C/1996 B2 on
1996 Mar. 21-24 (r = 1.11-1.05 AU, Delta = 0.15-0.105 AU), using the Extreme
Ultraviolet Explorer orbiting observatory.  An image of soft x-rays in the
range 70-180 eV was obtained with the Deep Survey Camera.  It shows
crescent-shaped emission with total luminosity of 1.0 x 10**25 photon/s
within an aperture radius of 120 000 km.  The emission is offset by
42 000 km sunward from the nucleus in the sky plane.  Spectra were acquired
over the range 7-70 nm (180-18 eV) and show both spectral lines and
continuum emission."


COMET 81P/WILD 2
     Total visual magnitude estimates: Mar. 27.17 UT, 9.8 (C. E. Spratt,
Victoria, BC, 0.20-m reflector); Apr. 3.79, 9.8 (K. Sarneczky, Raktanya,
Hungary, 20 x 60 binoculars); 7.85, 9.7 (A. Kammerer, Ettlingen, Germany,
0.20-m reflector); 10.09, 9.8 (J. Bortle, Stormville, NY, 0.41-m reflector);
13.80, 9.7 (V. Znojil, Brno, Czech Republic, 25 x 100 binoculars); 21.81,
9.8 (Znojil); 29.90, 10.2 (A. Pereira, Cabo da Roca, Portugal, 0.25-m
reflector); May 5.10, 10.2 (Bortle); 10.88, 9.8 (M. Plsek, Lelekovice,
Czech Republic, 0.20-m reflector); 25.92, 10.9 (C. Vitorino, Cabo
da Roca, Portugal, 0.25-m reflector); 31.88, 10.0 (K. Hornoch, Lelekovice,
Czech Republic, 0.35-m reflector); June 4.88, 10.4 (M. Lehky,
Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, 0.42-m reflector); 10.88, 10.9 (Lehky);
28.86, 11.2 (Znojil); July 1.46, 11.0 (A. Pearce, City Beach, Western
Australia, 0.2-m reflector); 3.46, 11.1 (Pearce).

                      (C) Copyright 1997 CBAT
1997 July 8                    (6696)              Brian G. Marsden