New comet --- C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo)

Remarkably faint comet C/2014 F3 (Sheppard-Trujillo) was discovered on the 26^th of March, 2014, by S.S. Sheppard and C. Trujillo, using a 4.0-m telescope of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (Coquimbo Region, Chile). At the time of discovery the brightness of comet was of about 23^m (heliocentric distance 13.5 a. u.). According to preliminary orbit  calculations, the perihelion date is expected on June, 2021. The comet will pass the Sun at a distance of about 5.5 a. u. attaining a maximum observed magnitude up to 17^m. The orbital period is about of 59 years, and though this comet had been passing the perihelion many times, still keeping enough of volatiles to be an active one at large heliocentric distances. Perhaps, this is due to a significant perihelion distance with no intensive sublimation suggested.

Of course, discovering a comet  on a large telescope is rather an accident and side effect  of trans-Neptunian survey. Nevertheless, still Pan-STARRS telescopes are surveying the night sky on a continual basis, we’re getting more accustomed to the discovery of comets with magnitude 20-21. Probably in the nearest future, with the new generation of search technique development, discoveries of comets with magnitude 21 and even fainter become  quite commonplace. The primary problem of detecting cometary activity should arrive in this case, ‘cause all of the cometary features that distant faint comets actually have are inconsiderable. Also it is possible that these comets would be discovered before cometary activity become obvious and this may lead to the number of comets with preliminary asteroid designations to be increased rapidly. 

Authors: A. Novichonok, T. Prystavski

Information sources:

1. MPEC 2014-K30 : COMET C/2014 F3 (SHEPPARD-TRUJILLO)
2. CBET 3879 : 20140523 : COMET C/2014 F3 (SHEPPARD-TRUJILLO)