Comet C/2006 A1 (Pojmanski)

New comet C 2006 (Pojmanski) was discovered by the ASAS Alert System on Jan, 02, 2006 on the image taken on Jan 01, 2006 at position (21:40:28 -68:36.5). Confirmation images were taken on Jan 4, and one prediscovery image was identified on Dec 29, 2005.
Original data of the Alert System is available via ASAS old webpage.

Map for the nearest days.

My own image (2.5 MB!) of the comet. It shows its location on the dawn of March 5, 2006 as seen from a beautiful village - Biesowo in the northern Poland.

These are John Drummond's photos of C/2006 A1 - Possum Observatory - New Zealand:

See also: Terry Lovejoy's images
More comet images I came across in the internet. I'm sorry to the authors for not providing sources (I'll try to do that later, when time permits).

Discovery report

alert_15
Grzegorz Pojmanski, Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory reports:

Using the ASAS3V instrument of The All Sky Automated Survey 
(telephoto lens 180/2.8, diameter 65mm + CCD + Johnsons V  filter, 
3 minute exposures, pixel size 14.8 arcsec, rms astrometric accuracy:
4  arcsec) ASAS has discovered an apparently cometary 
object on images taken on January, 1, 2006.  
Object cannot be located in MPC/CBAT pages.

Observations:
   DATE    UT                      HJD        RA  (2000)  DEC      V
29/12/2005 00:45:17 (Dec 29.032) 2453733.5285 21:50:29  -69:40.6 13.20
01/01/2006 01:03:11 (Jan 01.044) 2453736.5407 21:40:28  -68:36.5 12.46
04/01/2006 00:46:26 (Jan 04.033) 2453739.5290 21:31:33  -67:31.2 12.00
04/01/2006 00:53:46 (Jan 04.038) 2453739.5341 21:31:33  -67:31.1 11.99
05/01/2006 00:52:27 (Jan 05.037) 2453740.5332 21:28:45  -67:08.8 11.92

FWHM of the coma is 63 arcsec;
Diameter of the ASAS-detected coma (largest contour) is 2 arcmin.

06/01/2005, RA,DEC: 21:26:03 -66:46.4

Prediscovery image: 29/12/2005, RA,DEC: 21:50:29 -69:40.6	Discovery image: 01/01/2006, RA,DEC: 21:40:28 -68:36.5
Later images:
04/01/2005, RA,DEC: 21:31:33 -67:31.2	05/01/2005, RA,DEC: 21:28:45 -67:08.8

T = 20060222.671 e = 1.00000 q = 0.56748 Peri = 350.499 Node = 212.275 Incl = 93.23 Eqnx = 2000 m0 = 11.5 k = 10.0 (MPEC 2006)

Download Orbit Viewer

Ephemeris

COMET C/2006 A1 (POJMANSKI)
     Ephemeris from the orbital elements on IAUC 8653 (H = 10, n =
3):

2006 TT     R. A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong. Phase   Mag.
Jan.  5    21 28.87   -67 09.7   1.520   1.164   50.0   40.3   11.4
     10    21 16.13   -65 14.8   1.484   1.084   46.9   41.5   11.1
     15    21 04.83   -63 12.5   1.441   1.003   44.1   43.0   10.8
     20    20 54.47   -60 59.3   1.389   0.924   41.6   45.0   10.5
     25    20 44.69   -58 29.1   1.328   0.846   39.5   47.8   10.1
     30    20 35.38   -55 32.9   1.259   0.773   37.9   51.5    9.7
Feb.  4    20 26.66   -51 57.4   1.180   0.705   36.6   56.5    9.2
      9    20 19.03   -47 23.2   1.093   0.646   35.7   63.1    8.8
     14    20 13.42   -41 25.3   1.002   0.601   35.1   71.1    8.3
     19    20 11.08   -33 35.0   0.913   0.574   34.8   79.8    8.0
     24    20 13.24   -23 31.2   0.836   0.568   35.0   87.4    7.8
                      (C) Copyright 2006 CBAT
2006 January 5                 (8654)            Daniel W. E. Green

Original telegram

COMET C/2006 A1 (POJMANSKI)
     Grzegorz Pojmanski, Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory,
reports his discovery of a diffuse comet with a coma diameter of 1'
(FWHM) on 3-min CCD frames (pixel size 14".8) taken on 2006 Jan. 1
and 4 with a 180-mm-focal-length f/2.8 telephoto lens (+ V filter)
in the course of the All Sky Automated Survey at Las Campanas;
Pojmanski subsequently identified ASAS images of the comet taken on
2005 Dec. 29.  S. Roland (Montevideo, Uruguay) writes that 20-second
CCD exposures taken with a 0.46-m prime-focus telescope confirm the
cometary nature of the new object, with a coma diameter of about 1'.
More than seven hours after Pojmanski reported his find to the
Central Bureau, K. Cernis reported (apparently independently) that
he has found an object on ultraviolet SWAN/SOHO website images taken
on three nights (back to 2005 Dec. 25) showing a motion consistent
with that of C/2006 A1.

     2005/6 UT           R.A. (2000) Decl.       Mag.   Observer
     Dec. 25         22 09.0       -71 07               SWAN
          29         21 52.6       -69 03                 "
          29.03145   21 50 29      -69 40.6      13.2   ASAS
     Jan.  1         21 42.4       -68 23               SWAN
           1.04388   21 40 28      -68 36.5      12.5     "
           4.03225   21 31 33      -67 31.2      12.0     "
           4.03734   21 31 33      -67 31.1      12.0     "
           4.99875   21 28 51.64   -67 09 39.9   14.6   Roland
           5.00339   21 28 50.91   -67 09 33.7   14.6     "
           5.01031   21 28 49.73   -67 09 23.9   14.7     "
           5.01681   21 28 48.72   -67 09 15.0   14.6     "
           5.02197   21 28 47.83   -67 09 07.9   14.8     "
           5.03106   21 28 46.33   -67 08 55.5   14.5     "
           5.03985   21 28 44.88   -67 08 43.5   14.7     "
           5.04632   21 28 43.71   -67 08 35.7   14.2     "
           5.05587   21 28 42.25   -67 08 21.4   14.7     "
           5.07266   21 28 39.51   -67 07 58.5   14.5     "

Preliminary parabolic orbital elements from the ASAS and Roland data:

     T = 2006 Feb. 22.671 TT          Peri. = 350.499
                                      Node  = 212.275   2000.0
     q = 0.56748 AU                   Incl. =  93.230

                      (C) Copyright 2006 CBAT
2006 January 5                 (8653)            Daniel W. E. Green