The story of finding xkos369 - later comet C/2023 V4

Moonbase South Observatory - Comet and Neo Searching Project (MSO-CaNeSP) was lauched in June 2022. This project first used one, and from Sept. 2023 two telescopes with a 0.28 m main mirror (Celestron C11 - SCT) in a configuration with a Starizona Hyperstar f/1.9 and a full frame CMOS cameras with a Sony IMX455 sensor from ZWO, model ASI 6200MM-P.

A few hours before the session of MSO-CaNeSP started on Nov. 4

Jordi prepared part of the observing plan for the scopes we use for this project. Grzegorz prepared the observatory for work and launched observation plans for both C11 scopes, also adding some new fields to search for comets in the vicinity of the Milky Way in accordance with the general plan.

The data from both scopes was constantly downloaded to a computer in Sweden. This PC analyzes the data looking for potential new moving objects.

Jordi checks the data obtained processed by the Tycho program installed on it and performs measurements and reports observations as well as new objects, mostly NEOs to the MPC.

Early in the morning of November 5, the material from one of the telescopes processed by the Tycho program. Searching in the area marked as "Field-A15" showed an unknown object moving slowly that looked more like a small comet with a short tail...

Jordi performed astrometric measurements and sent the MPC report as a new NEO Candidate and contacted Grzegorz. Jordi then promptly sent a report to the MPC explaining the cometary activity of the xkos369 object which they put on the PCCP list, for possible comets.

The next night we were able to take additional images of this object with the C14 telescope also from L87. Those images showed the coma and the short tail very clearly.

Some links

CBAT  - the discovery report

MPC2023-V192  - additional observations report

astro.vanbuitenen.nl  -

nattmolnet.saaf.se - swedish amateur astrom forum

cometografia.es - spanish comet forum

https://theskylive.com/c2023v4-info 

https://geekweek.interia.pl/astronomia/news-poznajcie-c-2023-v4-camarasa-duszanowicz-polak