Monthly Information about Comets in July 1996

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 Updated on July 11 1996
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  • Comets Ranking
  • Explanations
  • Faint Comets
  • Positions Table

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    * Comets Ranking

    Here is the ranking of comets in July, 1996.

    Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), the probable greatest comet in this century, is really coming bright now. Some people say the magnitude is already 5-6 which means a naked-eye object. This comet is the hottest topic in this summer.

    New comet C/1996 N1 Brewington was discovered in the evening sky on July 4. It will be seen in the evening for a while with magnitude about 10. A periodic comet 22P/Kopff passes the perihelion this month and is brightest with magnitude 8-9. These 3 comets are observable with your eyes this July.

    65P/Gunn is bright enough to take a picture. The magnitude is about 12.

    The super comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake), which passed 0.10 AU far from the earth and reached 0 mag with 100 deg tail late in March, left to the southern sky. It passed the perihelion on May 1 and is getting fainter day by day. After perihelion its magnitude was 3 mag to 5 mag, fainter than expected.

    * No. 1 C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) 6 -> 5.5 mag

    - No. 2 C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) 7 -> 9 mag

    * No. 3 22P/Kopff 8 -> 8.5 mag

    * No. 4 C/1996 N1 (Brewington) 10.5 -> 10 mag

    - No. 5 116P/Wild 4 12 -> 11.5 mag

    ! No. 6 P/1983 M1 (IRAS) 13.5 -> 12.5 mag

    * No. 7 65P/Gunn 12.5 -> 13 mag

    - No. 8 C/1996 J1 (Evans-Drinkwater)13.5 -> 13 mag

    - No. 9 32P/Comas Sola 14 mag

    - No. 10 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 14 mag

    * No. 11 C/1996 E1 (NEAT)15 -> 14.5 mag

    Other faint comets are as follows.

    * 123P/West-Hartley 15.5 -> 16 mag
    - 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 15.5 -> 16 mag
    * 95P/Chiron 15.5 mag
    ! 72P/Denning-Fujikawa 16.5 -> 20 mag
    + 46P/Wirtanen 17.5 -> 16.5 mag
    * 125P/Spacewatch 16.5 -> 17 mag
    ! 96P/Machholz 1 18.5 -> 16.5 mag
    + P/1987 U1 (Shoemaker-Holt 1) 17 mag
    * 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1 17 mag
    - P/1996 A1 (Jedicke) 17.5 mag
    * C/1995 Y1 (Hyakutake) 17.5 -> 18.5 mag
    * 7P/Pons-Winnecke 17.5 -> 18 mag
    - C/1996 B1 (Szczepanski) 18 -> 20 mag
    + P/1990 R2 (Holt-Olmstead) 18.5 -> 18 mag

    *Observable now -Not observable in the Northern Hemisphere +Periodic comets not yet observed at this return !Periodic comets not yet observed at this return but not observable in the Northern Hemisphere

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    * Explanations

    * C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)

    Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), which was discovered a year ago (July 1995) with 11 mag and said to be extremely bright in next spring, is really coming bright now. It was about 10 mag just before set in the west last autumn. After conjunction with Sun it appeared in the east again at dawn in late February with magnitude 8-9. It has been coming brighter favorably, 7-8 mag in May, 6 mag in June. Someone already reports as 5 mag. You can see the comet even through 5cm finding scope. The diameter is already 10', one third of the Moon. This is a big present for our summer vacation.

    Generally, a magnitude equation of a new comet is made from brightness on discovery by calculating absolute magnitude m0 with an assumption a coefficient of log r as 10. For comet Hale-Bopp the equation

    m1 = -2.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r
    was calculated last summer, which means this comet will reach -2 mag at its perihelion in next spring. So far the magnitude of this comet brightens along it well. On the contrary the actual brightening pace is quicker than expected. The equation calculated in method of least squares with data from last summer is

    m1 = -3.4 + 5 log d + 12.0 log r
    and with all data including 18 mag in April 1993 is

    m1 = -4.0 + 5 log d + 12.9 log r
    Anyway the magnitude keeps brightning favorably for a year. It makes us expect to see a super comet. In this summer the comet brightens 6 -> 5 mag.

    The shape of this comet in this year has been also interesting. CCD users caught the spiral image. The inclination of coma is seen clearly with naked eyes throught a telescope.

    This comet has been in Sagittarius and very close to Jupiter since its discovery so we could find it from Jupiter. The comet seems to go far from Jupiter shortly but the tip to find it is still "Just north of Jupiter" this month. It is very bright enough to find without a detail chart. It goes across the Milky Way in Scutum in July and enters in Serpens and Ophiuchus in August.

    Because the comet is in the midst of the Milky Way this month, there are many nebulae and clusters. Here is a list of bright ones of them, enjoyable ones to see.

    • North of Comet
      • M11 (open cluster, 5.8 mag, 14')
      • M26 (open cluster, 8.0 mag, 15')
      • NGC6664 (open cluster, 7.8 mag, 16')
      • NGC6683 (open cluster, 10.0 mag, 11')
      • NGC6704 (open cluster, 9.1 mag, 6')
      • NGC6712 (globular cluster, 8.1 mag, 7')
    • South of Comet
      • M16 (cluster & nebula, 6.0 mag, 35')
      • M17 (cluster & nebula, 6.0 mag, 46')
      • M18 (open cluster, 6.9 mag, 9')
      • M24 (star cloud)
      • M25 (open cluster, 4.5 mag, 32')
      • NGC6604 (cluster & nebula, 6.5 mag, 60')
      • NGC6605 (open cluster, 6.0 mag)
      • NGC6647 (open cluster, 8.0 mag)

    Especially on July 17, the comet closes to an open cluster NGC6649(8.8 mag, 6') only a fee minutes from the cluster. Go to south more and there is a Jupiter at its opposition with Galillean satellites, and there are many large nebulae around such as

    • M8 (nebula, 5.8 mag, 90')
    • M20 (nebula, 6.3 mag, 29')
    • M21 (open cluster, 5.9 mag, 13')
    • M22 (globular cluster, 5.0 mag, 24')
    • M23 (open cluster, 5.5 mag, 27')

    Especially Jupiter closes a big globular cluster M22 (5.0 mag, 24') as seen in one view of a telescope in August and it will be a quite sight to see. As said above, this summer is a so luxury vacation that we can watch the greatest comet Hale-Bopp, the king of planet Jupiter, and beautiful summer nebulae in the Milky Way at once for all night. Let's go out watching stars with your family and friends.

    Mr. Isao Sato at National Astronomical Observatory in Japan forecasts occultations of some stars by comet Hale-Bopp as follows. It is not sure that the occultation by the core can be observed but dicreasing of brightness by the coma may be observed.

    DateTimeComet mag.StarStar mag.
    Jul. 3020:305.8 magPPM2015059.5 mag
    Sep. 421:515.3 magPPM2008549.8 mag

    The comet moves west until late September, then stars to move to north in Ophiuchus after October. But because the speed is not fast now, it will be in Ophiuchus until its set in the west in early December. The magnitude reaches 4 mag if it goes along expectation.

    It is not observable from late December to early January. After that it appears at dawn in mid January and seen in the dawn sky till mid March. In this period the magnitude brightens rapidly from 2 mag to -1 mag. March 9 is the day of a solar eclipse in Mongolia and Siberia and the comet is seen overhead just in the eclipse. The "eclipse comet" is after an interval of 115 years. The comet outruns the Sun around March 20. But Hale-Bopp can be watched even both in the evening and at dawn these days because it passes 45 degress north of the Sun at this conjunction and the brightness is at peak, -1 mag. It is seen in the evening sky from late March to late May and the magnitudes goes down from -2 to 1. It begins to move south these days. After set in the west in late May with magnitude 1, we cannot see the comet for a while. In autumn it appears just over the horizon in the south east with magnitude 5 from September to October. But it leaves to the south in November and then will never seen again in the Northern Hemisphere.

    * C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)

    C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake), discovered in the morning on January 31 by Yuji Hyakutake in Japan, became one of the greatest comets since comet West in 1976. The comet closes 0.10 AU to the earth on March 25 and then it was 0 mag with 100 deg long tail. On the contrary it shined overhead at midnight so we could watch it all night. We could see it move among stars with a telescope.

    But the increase of the magnitude weakened from early April when the distance from the Sun reached 0.7 AU. The calculated magnitude goes up till May 1 and reaches 0 mag again but actually 2 mag stably in April. Some people said it went fainter. It is not so rare really that the magnitude increases more weakly than expected by m1 = m0 + 5 log d + 10 log r after r reached about 0.7 AU, so the above doesn't absolutely mean the activity of the comet weakened. Anyway many people felt difficulty to see it in April because the comet was in the low west sky. The picture caught a long tail of the comet but extremely hard to see it with naked eyes.

    Comet Hyakutake passed perihelion and was observed in the Southern Hemisphere in mid May. The magnitude is about 3, fainter than expected. It shows the magnitude increasing weakened around perihelion. After that it has been observed continuously and reached 6 mag in mid June. As a result it passed perihelion quite normally, without a outburst after perihelion which sometimes happened, and without evaporatoin and vanishing because of small q (0.23 AU). It comes fainter from 7 mag to 9 mag this month.

    The total light curve of this comet is divided into four periods as follows.

    • Just after discovery
    • From early February to late March
    • Aound perihelion from April to May
    • After June

    The magnitude equations for these periods are

    • m1 = 6.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r ( 1/ 1 - 2/ 6, 2.0 < r )
    • m1 = 5.2 + 5 log d + 8.7 log r ( 2/ 6 - 4/11, 0.7 < r < 2.0)
    • m1 = 4.6 + 5 log d + 5.0 log r ( 4/11 - 5/21, r < 0.7)
    • m1 = 5.0 + 5 log d + 8.5 log r ( 5/21 - , 0.7 < r )

    After perihelion the actual magnitude has went along the fouth equation well so far. But it may suddenly darken in August when the magnitude reaches 9-10 and r goes over 2.0, because it became suddenly beightened in February even it was very faint just after discovery. Most current comets darkened suddenly at 9-11 mag.

    The comet now is between Canopus and Large Magellanic Cloud in early July and observable with good condition both in the evening and at dawn in the southern sky in the Southern Hemisphere. Then it moves along the bottom of Argo and becomes higher in the evening. It closes 96P/Machholz 1 just south of Crux on August 27. The distance is 20'. The magnitudes are 10 mag (Hyakutake) and 14.5 mag(96/Machholz 1).

    * 22P/Kopff

    22P/Kopff, the most expected periodic comet this year, passes its perihelion this July 2. It is in Sagittarius now so the condition is best, almost opposition at perihelion.

    At first they say this comet reaches 7 mag in June and July, but actually it is fainter, 8-9 mag now. The magnitude equation from November 1994 (23 mag) to June is

    m1 = 5.3 + 5 log d + 21.0 log r
    and the magnitude brightening is much weaker than the expected equation,

    m1 = 3.0 + 5 log d + 26.0 log r

    Now the comet is in Sagittarius. Jupiter is in the neighborhood and you can find it easily from Jupiter and three stars in Sagittarius, pi, omicron, xi. But it becomes fainter because it goes far from both the Sun and the Earth after this. In August it moves to on a border of Capricornus and Sagittarius, far from Jupiter and no bright stars around. In addition it will be able to be observed only in the evening. Because of them you should observe it in this month.a

    It will reach 10 mag at late August. After that it is just in the south of Uranus and Neptune till late September. It passes 2.5 degrees from a globular cluster M75(8.6 mag, 6') on September 11-15. The magnitude is about 10.

    * C/1996 N1 (Brewington)

    On this July 4 Mr. Howard Brewington in New Mexico discovered a new comet C/1996 N1 (Brewington) in the evening sky with magnitude 10. Its first orbital element says it passes perihelion on August 3 and the distance from the Sun is about 0.9 AU. The comet will be observed in the evening for a while after this and keep 10 mag until late August.

    The comet moves northward. It passes about 3 degrees from beta Leo (2.1 mag) on July 13 and is easy to find from it. Then it passes at the edge of galaxies in Virgo from July 15 to 20, passes across galaxies in Coma Berenices from late July to early August. There are many galaxies around which are about 10 mag and you need to tell the comet from other galaxies with attention.

    It may cause some difference after this to forecast from the current element. The comet in August moves northward, Coma Berenices -> Canes Venatici -> Bootes, and becomes higher in the evening sky. It is seen overhead in the evening and from September to January and comes faint fro 11 mag to 17 mag. After that it sets in the west in early March.

    * 116P/Wild 4

    A periodic comet 116P/Wild 4 will pass its perihelion on August 31 but the condition of this return is bad and cannot be observed at that time. It already has been very low in the west and is very hard to observe. Not observable in late this month.

    This comet was discovered in 1990 and this time is the first return. It brightened and darkened rapidly last time and much more this time. It reached 13 mag already in January. Then the condition came bad and was about 12-13 mag in May and June. The total magnitude equation from the detect in February 1995 with magnitude 20.5 is

    m1 = 1.4 + 5 log d + 27.0 log r
    12 mag is brighter than expected but it was not observed with eyes (not pictures) after all.

    The comet is at conjunction but will appear again late in next March at dawn in Sagittarius with 14 mag. Then it is observable till summer when it reaches 17 mag.

    * P/1983 M1 (IRAS)

    Returning periodic comet P/1983 M1 (IRAS) is expedted to see with magnitude 11 from autumn to winter but not yet detected in early July. Now the comet is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere but the condition in the Southern Hemisphere is so good and probably 13.5 -> 12.5 mag this month. It will be detected soon.

    There is one worry that it is very faint now because it has not yet been detected even the condition is good. For example 121P/Shoemaker-Holt 2, about 5 mag fainter than expected. If so the detection may be in autumn or winter when it becomes observable in the Northern Hemisphere.

    It is near by Achernar this month and very high in the south sky from midnight to dawn in the Southern Hemisphere.

    The comet begins to move northward rapidly in September and be observable in the low south sky in October even in the Northern Hemisphere. The magnitude will be 10-11 mag. Then we can observe it until it sets in the west in late March with magnitude 15-16.

    * 65P/Gunn

    65P/Gunn passes its perihelion on 24 July. The condition of this return is good, almost at opposition at perihelion, so expected to be 10-11 mag and be observed with eyes. But actually the magnitude brightening is not so quite and stopped at 12 mag. The magnitude equation since January 1995 is

    m1 = 7.7 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r
    that is quite a normal light curve.

    The comet is now in the head of Scorpius and moving together with the asteroid Ceres. There are many bright stars around here and not so hard to find it. The comet is seen in the evening and sets in the west before midnight.

    It is still 12-13 mag this month but it goes far from both the Sun and the Earth after this and fainter rapidly. In addition it closes to the western horizon on and on and becomes hard to observe in September. To take a picture of it you need to hurry up. But the eccentricity is like a circle and it becomes observable again at dawn in June 1997 with magnitude 15.

    There are many bright nebulae and clusters around the comet now and it closes some of them as follows.

    DatePeriodComet mag.ObjectKindMagDiameterDistance
    Aug. 16 - 1713 magM4globular cluster5.9 mag26'passes in front
    Aug. 1612 days13 magM4globular cluster5.9 mag26'in 1 deg
    Aug. 2012 days13 magAntares
    		1.0 mag
    		in 1 deg
    Sept. 174 days13.5 magM62globular cluster6.5 mag14'in 2 degs
    Sept. 174 days13.5 magM19globular cluster7.1 mag14'in 3 degs
    Sept. 25
    		13.5 magNGC6304globular cluster8.3 mag7'40'
    Sept. 26
    		13.5 magNGC6316globular cluster9.0 mag5'1.5 deg

    But the comet is so faint that it is hard to enjoy the phenomena.

    * C/1996 J1 (Evans-Drinkwater)

    C/1996 J1 (Evans-Drinkwater) is a new comet discovered on May 16 with magnitude about 16. The reported magnitude is 16 and very faint but actually it seems to be about 14 mag now. The perihelion is January 2, 1997, much in advance, and the distance is 1.2 AU. It brightenes slowly after this and reaches 9-10 mag around its perihelion.

    But the condition is worst. We cannot see the comet at all around its perihelion because of conjunction with the Sun. The comet reached 13.5 mag in June but now it is very low in the evening sky and already not observable. The next chance to see this is June 1997 when it appears at dawn in Triangulum but the magnitude is 13. After this it goes away from the Sun and comes fainter on and on.

    * 32P/Comas Sola

    32P/Comas Sola has already passed its perihelion on June 10 and already set in the west and now it is not observable. Even the condition of this return is bad, it was observed brighter than expected. About 15 mag in this year. The magnitude equation from last August (20 mag) is

    m1 = 5.5 + 5 log d + 22.5 log r

    The comet will appear again at dawn in Virgo with mag 16 so CCD users have another chance to take a picture of it. It is observable until early next year after this.

    * 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

    22P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 bursted out in last February and reached about 11 mag. But after that it extremely diffused and has beed quite hard to observe. The diameter was about 4-5' in March and April but is less than 1' now. The reported magnitudes were decreasing since May and about 14 mag in mid June.

    The comet is in Leo, already low in the evening sky and unable to observe now. It will appear at dawn in November. Then will the image be stellar or not as usual, or not.

    * C/1996 E1 (NEAT)

    C/1996 E1 (NEAT) is a new comet discovered on March 15. Some people reports the magnitude as 14 but actually it is about 16 mag. The perihelion is on July 27, but it keeps brightening until 14 mag in autumn because of the relation with the earth.

    Now the comet is very low in the evening, about over 10 degrees high at the end of daylight. It is 15 -> 14.5 mag so quite hard to observe. This situation continues for a while but the comet moves northward and becomes observable both in the evening and at dawn in the low northern sky. It closes less than 8 degrees to Polaris from late August to early September. Then it comes to the evening sky again and is seen overhead in autumn with good condition. The magnitude is about 14 at peak, then darkens rapidly and reaches 18 mag or fainter in January when it sets in the west.

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    * Faint Comets

    123P/West-Hartley which passed its perihelion on May 12 brightened rapidly and was observed with magnitude 14.5-15 this year. The magnitude equation is

    m1 = 1.6 + 5 log d + 35.0 log r
    The comet is in Leo this month. It is seen low in the west and not observable after late July. It has already passed the perihelion and becoms fainter after this. It appears at dawn in next February but then it is about 20 mag or fainter. Therefore the observation of this comet has already finished.

    67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has passed its perihelion on January 17. It bursted out about 1.5 mag just at perihelion and went fainter favorably after that. The magnitude equations of before perihelion and after perihelion are

    m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 14.0 log r
    m1 = 9.3 + 5 log d + 11.5 log r
    Then you can see it went faint more slowly after the outburst. It has already set in the west and the ovservation of this comet has finished. When it appears at dawn in December, it is 18 mag depending on the latter equation or much fainter if the brightness becomes as it was.

    95P/Chiron, originally considered as an asteroid and registered again as a comet, is still west of Spica this month and becomes very low in the west. It is hard to observe this comet now. It passed its first perihelion in last February but the distance from the Sun is 8.5 AU and no happenings on it. It has been stellar with magnitude 15. The observation of it finish this month but CCD users can observe it for some years after this because of the large q and its slow magnitude curve like an asteroid. Generally about 16 mag in 2000, 17 mag in 2002 and 18 mag in 2004.

    A lost comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa should have passed its perihelion on May 29 and seems to leave without being observed in this return as well. The extremely rapid magnitude change is a big characteristic of this comet and it is bright enough to be observed only around the perihelion. This time observers in the Southern Hemisphere had a little chance to detect it in this spring but not seen after all. It is now too close to the sun to see. In the Northern Hemisphere it appears at dawn in September but the magnitude is 24 or fainter, too dark to see.

    46P/Wirtanen passes its perihelion in next March and is expected to be 10 mag then. Nobody has observed it in this return yet. It is in Piscis Austrinus and low in the south sky after midnight. The magnitude is about 17 so observable with CCD. By the way comet P/1990 R2 (Holt-Olmstead) is also in Piscis Austrinus with magnitude 18. This is the first return and will be numbered after detection.

    125P/Spacewatch was detected in March with magnitude 17 and keeps 17 mag after that. It passes its perihelion on July 14 and becomes fainter after this. It is is Virgo in the evening sky now. It seems to set soon in the west, but it is moving eastward rapidly and seen in the same position, low in the west, until set in late November. Then the magnitude is 19-20 in Sagittarius.

    A famous periodic comet for its quite small q (0.12 AU), 96P/Machholz 1 will pass its perihelion in October but not yet observed in this return. Now the comet is near by Small Magellanic Cloud and not seen in the Northern Hemisphere. The magnitude is 18.5 -> 16.5 this month so it may be too early to expect the first observation report of it. The comet closes that comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) on August 27. The distance is only 20' and the magnitudes are 10 mag (Hyakutake) and 14.5 mag (96P/Machholz 1). This return is good for the Southern Hemisphere. It passes 2 degrees far from the south pole in early August and observable all night in July and August. Then it moves northward and it is observable until late September with 11 mag in the Southern Hemisphere. It will reach 2 mag depending on the equation at perihelion, but too close to the sun to see. It will keep close to the sun after that and becomes observable late in next March in the Northern Hemisphere. But the magnitude is 20 or fainter then so actually observers in the Northern Hemisphere cannot see this comet this time.

    P/1987 U1 (Shoemaker-Holt 1), which passes its perihelion in November 1997, has not been detected yet. Now it is 17 mag and seen high in the south sky at dawn. It will be detected soon if the magnitude is as expected. A good target for CCD users. This season is pre-perihelion and 16.5 mag in summer and autumn. It sets in the west in next Febuary with magnitude 17 and appears again in July with magnitude 16. Then it reaches 15 mag in November at opposition. It will be observable for a few years after that.

    117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1 has been observed as 17 mag since detected in May 1995. But it is low in the west this month and will be not observable. The perihelion is March 1997 and the distance is 3.7 AU so the comet becomes observable with 17 mag in next May.

    A new periodic comet P/1996 A1 (Jedicke) discovered in Junuary at opposition has kept 16 mag until May. Now it has set in the west and we have to wait until November to observe it. The comet has already passed its perihelion but will be observed as 17.5-18 mag from November to next April because the distance from the sun is larger than 4 AU.

    C/1995 Y1 (Hyakutake) was discovered at dawn on December 26 and brightened as 8 mag in February and March. Then it came faint and 11 mag in April. But it suddenly darken after that and reached 16 mag late in May. Comparing the two magnitude equations, before darkening and after darkening,

    m1 = 7.4 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r
    m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r
    you see it suddenly darken about 3 mag. It is in Andromeda this month and good position, overhead at dawn, but not observable because it is 18 mag or fainter.

    7P/Pons-Winnecke is now in its 21th return. But it has been close to the sun and unable to see at all. It finally comes away from the sun this month and appears at dawn low in the east. But the magnitude is already 17-18 or fainter and so hard to observe. For your information the comet has been already observed in Junuary 1995 as 21 mag in this return.

    C/1996 B1 (Szczepanski) was discovered on January 27 near by the nebula M101 by Mr. Edward W. Szczepanski in Houston, Texas and brightened as 8 mag in February and March like C/1995 Y1 (Hyakutake). But it darkened extremely rapidly. It reached 12-13.5 mag just before set in the west in April. Here I use a magnitude equation as

    m1 = 4.2 + 5 log d + 30.0 log r
    but the actual magnitude decreasing is more rapid. Now it has been in southern sky and not observable in the Nothern Hemisphere. The magnitude is already 18 or fainter.

    A periodic comet P/1990 R2 (Holt-Olmstead) will pass its perihelion in next February as its first return. It has not been detected yet but it appears in the dawn sky now. It is in Piscis Austrinus so low in the south sky and the magnitude is 18 or fainter now, but it will brighten as 17.5 mag in September and then will be numbered. The condition of this return is not good and hard to see at its perihelion because it is close to the sun. The magnitude is only 18.5 at that time. About one mag brighter in this autumn than at perihelion and the position is better, just after opposition, therefore this summer and autumn is best to observe it.

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    * Positions Table

    * C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)

    m1 = -2.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  19  2.10  -12 10.2   3.984   2.994   165    6.4
1996- 7- 6  18 48.52  -11 10.9   3.877   2.877   168    6.2
1996- 7-16  18 34.20  -10 11.9   3.768   2.797   160    6.0
1996- 7-26  18 19.98   -9 14.8   3.659   2.753   148    5.8
1996- 8- 5  18  6.69   -8 21.5   3.548   2.742   136    5.7
1996- 8-15  17 55.04   -7 33.4   3.436   2.758   124    5.6
1996- 8-25  17 45.51   -6 51.2   3.323   2.794   113    5.4
1996- 9- 4  17 38.37   -6 14.3   3.209   2.844   102    5.3

    * C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake)

    m1 = 5.0 + 5 log d + 8.5 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   4 51.85  -53  9.8   1.409   1.190    78    6.6
1996- 7- 6   6  0.12  -62  0.4   1.592   1.305    85    7.3
1996- 7-16   7 25.97  -67 33.2   1.766   1.463    88    7.9
1996- 7-26   8 58.29  -69 54.6   1.933   1.653    89    8.5
1996- 8- 5  10 20.06  -70  3.1   2.095   1.867    88    9.1
1996- 8-15  11 24.36  -69  9.1   2.251   2.096    85    9.6
1996- 8-25  12 13.84  -67 58.4   2.402   2.335    81   10.1
1996- 9- 4  12 53.11  -66 51.9   2.549   2.577    77   10.5

    * 22P/Kopff

    m1 = 5.3 + 5 log d + 21.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  19 20.86  -17 27.8   1.581   0.577   164    8.3
1996- 7- 6  19 22.50  -18 40.7   1.580   0.566   173    8.2
1996- 7-16  19 23.40  -20  3.5   1.586   0.570   175    8.3
1996- 7-26  19 24.97  -21 25.3   1.598   0.593   166    8.4
1996- 8- 5  19 28.41  -22 36.2   1.616   0.632   157    8.7
1996- 8-15  19 34.36  -23 29.5   1.640   0.686   148    9.0
1996- 8-25  19 43.07  -24  1.8   1.669   0.756   141    9.4
1996- 9- 4  19 54.35  -24 12.7   1.703   0.840   134    9.8

    * C/1996 N1 (Brewington)

    m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  11 10.58   -3 57.9   1.143   0.833    75   10.7
1996- 7- 6  11 38.80    5 49.6   1.051   0.828    68   10.3
1996- 7-16  12  8.45   15 22.8   0.980   0.838    62   10.0
1996- 7-26  12 38.85   24 22.6   0.935   0.859    59    9.9
1996- 8- 5  13  9.74   32 34.6   0.924   0.886    57    9.9
1996- 8-15  13 41.79   39 49.8   0.946   0.912    58   10.1
1996- 8-25  14 16.92   46  5.2   1.000   0.933    61   10.3
1996- 9- 4  14 58.09   51 19.2   1.078   0.950    66   10.7

    * 116P/Wild 4

    m1 = 1.4 + 5 log d + 27.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   9 47.11   15 13.6   2.054   2.569    49   11.9
1996- 7- 6  10  7.31   13 12.9   2.036   2.626    44   11.8
1996- 7-16  10 27.83   11  3.7   2.021   2.678    40   11.8
1996- 7-26  10 48.60    8 47.2   2.009   2.727    36   11.8
1996- 8- 5  11  9.57    6 24.5   2.000   2.772    33   11.7
1996- 8-15  11 30.73    3 57.0   1.993   2.815    29   11.7
1996- 8-25  11 52.08    1 26.3   1.990   2.854    25   11.7
1996- 9- 4  12 13.62   -1  6.1   1.989   2.890    21   11.8

    * P/1983 M1 (IRAS)

    m1 = 6.0 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   0 58.32  -61 13.1   2.177   1.666   105   13.9
1996- 7- 6   1  7.27  -61 34.1   2.116   1.551   109   13.5
1996- 7-16   1  9.99  -62  9.4   2.057   1.441   112   13.1
1996- 7-26   1  4.52  -62 53.3   2.001   1.335   116   12.7
1996- 8- 5   0 48.68  -63 31.7   1.949   1.236   119   12.3
1996- 8-15   0 20.83  -63 37.6   1.900   1.147   123   11.9
1996- 8-25  23 42.60  -62 29.4   1.855   1.072   125   11.5
1996- 9- 4  23  0.93  -59 25.9   1.815   1.014   127   11.2

    * 65P/Gunn

    m1 = 7.7 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  16 11.04  -23 35.1   2.468   1.533   150   12.6
1996- 7- 6  16  7.35  -24  8.1   2.465   1.597   140   12.6
1996- 7-16  16  6.48  -24 42.4   2.462   1.678   130   12.7
1996- 7-26  16  8.56  -25 18.5   2.462   1.774   121   12.9
1996- 8- 5  16 13.48  -25 56.2   2.463   1.881   113   13.0
1996- 8-15  16 21.01  -26 34.8   2.466   1.995   105   13.1
1996- 8-25  16 30.90  -27 13.2   2.470   2.116    98   13.3
1996- 9- 4  16 42.86  -27 50.0   2.475   2.240    91   13.4

    * C/1996 J1 (Evans-Drinkwater)

    m1 = 6.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  11  8.39  -19  4.0   2.903   2.865    81   13.4
1996- 7- 6  11 17.36  -18 45.7   2.797   2.884    74   13.3
1996- 7-16  11 28.10  -18 41.5   2.690   2.898    68   13.1
1996- 7-26  11 40.53  -18 51.2   2.583   2.903    61   12.9
1996- 8- 5  11 54.60  -19 13.6   2.477   2.900    55   12.8
1996- 8-15  12 10.31  -19 47.6   2.370   2.887    50   12.5
1996- 8-25  12 27.70  -20 31.8   2.264   2.864    44   12.3
1996- 9- 4  12 46.84  -21 24.5   2.159   2.832    39   12.1

    * 32P/Comas Sola

    m1 = 5.5 + 5 log d + 22.5 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   7 16.87   29  5.1   1.852   2.823    13   13.8
1996- 7- 6   7 46.50   28 26.7   1.862   2.847    11   13.8
1996- 7-16   8 15.58   27 28.2   1.877   2.871     9   13.9
1996- 7-26   8 43.89   26 11.7   1.896   2.895     8   14.1
1996- 8- 5   9 11.25   24 39.9   1.920   2.919     8   14.2
1996- 8-15   9 37.56   22 55.7   1.948   2.942     8   14.4
1996- 8-25  10  2.79   21  2.0   1.979   2.963    10   14.5
1996- 9- 4  10 26.91   19  1.7   2.014   2.981    13   14.7

    * 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

    m1 = 4.0 + 5 log d + 7.5 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  10 13.28    6 36.5   6.264   6.740    58   14.1
1996- 7- 6  10 18.49    6  6.4   6.265   6.868    50   14.2
1996- 7-16  10 24.17    5 32.6   6.266   6.982    42   14.2
1996- 7-26  10 30.23    4 55.6   6.267   7.080    34   14.2
1996- 8- 5  10 36.58    4 15.8   6.268   7.159    26   14.3
1996- 8-15  10 43.16    3 33.4   6.269   7.218    18   14.3
1996- 8-25  10 49.87    2 48.9   6.269   7.257    11   14.3
1996- 9- 4  10 56.65    2  2.7   6.270   7.274     5   14.3

    * C/1996 E1 (NEAT)

    m1 = 12.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   7 34.91   50 54.3   1.430   2.201    31   15.3
1996- 7- 6   7 40.96   53 32.9   1.389   2.147    31   15.1
1996- 7-16   7 48.94   56 35.1   1.363   2.061    35   14.9
1996- 7-26   7 59.56   60 10.8   1.353   1.945    40   14.8
1996- 8- 5   8 14.62   64 32.9   1.359   1.804    48   14.6
1996- 8-15   8 39.21   69 58.0   1.381   1.646    56   14.5
1996- 8-25   9 32.12   76 36.6   1.417   1.483    66   14.4
1996- 9- 4  12 40.64   82 36.6   1.467   1.331    76   14.3

    * 123P/West-Hartley

    m1 = 1.6 + 5 log d + 35.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  10  5.94   23 16.3   2.161   2.644    51   15.4
1996- 7- 6  10 26.01   20 42.2   2.175   2.733    47   15.6
1996- 7-16  10 45.77   18  4.5   2.191   2.821    43   15.8
1996- 7-26  11  5.21   15 24.7   2.210   2.907    38   16.0
1996- 8- 5  11 24.33   12 44.0   2.232   2.989    34   16.2
1996- 8-15  11 43.16   10  3.5   2.256   3.069    30   16.4
1996- 8-25  12  1.74    7 24.5   2.281   3.144    26   16.6
1996- 9- 4  12 20.07    4 47.9   2.309   3.215    21   16.9

    * 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

    m1 = 9.3 + 5 log d + 11.5 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   9 22.47   20 58.5   2.173   2.819    42   15.4
1996- 7- 6   9 43.07   19 10.4   2.247   2.964    37   15.7
1996- 7-16  10  2.57   17 20.7   2.321   3.104    33   16.0
1996- 7-26  10 21.10   15 30.5   2.395   3.238    28   16.2
1996- 8- 5  10 38.75   13 40.7   2.468   3.363    23   16.4
1996- 8-15  10 55.65   11 52.2   2.540   3.478    18   16.7
1996- 8-25  11 11.85   10  5.5   2.611   3.583    13   16.9
1996- 9- 4  11 27.43    8 21.5   2.682   3.674     8   17.1

    * 95P/Chiron

    m1 = 4.0 + 5 log d + 7.5 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  12 28.07   -4 54.5   8.468   8.342    93   15.6
1996- 7- 6  12 30.00   -5  1.2   8.470   8.505    84   15.6
1996- 7-16  12 32.54   -5 12.0   8.472   8.665    75   15.6
1996- 7-26  12 35.66   -5 26.7   8.475   8.820    66   15.7
1996- 8- 5  12 39.30   -5 45.0   8.477   8.965    58   15.7
1996- 8-15  12 43.39   -6  6.3   8.480   9.097    49   15.8
1996- 8-25  12 47.88   -6 30.2   8.483   9.215    41   15.8
1996- 9- 4  12 52.70   -6 56.4   8.486   9.314    33   15.8

    * 72P/Denning-Fujikawa

    m1 = 15.5 + 5 log d + 25.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   5  8.62   24 45.7   0.919   1.847    16   15.9
1996- 7- 6   5 53.74   26 15.2   1.012   1.951    15   17.1
1996- 7-16   6 35.00   26 49.9   1.118   2.056    16   18.3
1996- 7-26   7 12.20   26 43.5   1.231   2.159    17   19.4
1996- 8- 5   7 45.47   26  8.6   1.347   2.256    19   20.5
1996- 8-15   8 15.16   25 15.2   1.464   2.345    22   21.5
1996- 8-25   8 41.64   24 10.8   1.581   2.423    26   22.4
1996- 9- 4   9  5.30   23  1.1   1.697   2.490    30   23.2

    * 46P/Wirtanen

    m1 = 9.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  22 15.93  -23 27.8   2.909   2.188   126   17.7
1996- 7- 6  22 15.35  -24 34.4   2.840   2.021   135   17.3
1996- 7-16  22 12.09  -25 57.0   2.770   1.872   145   17.0
1996- 7-26  22  5.94  -27 32.3   2.699   1.744   155   16.7
1996- 8- 5  21 56.94  -29 13.7   2.626   1.641   162   16.4
1996- 8-15  21 45.52  -30 51.8   2.551   1.565   163   16.1
1996- 8-25  21 32.64  -32 15.7   2.476   1.517   156   15.8
1996- 9- 4  21 19.72  -33 16.5   2.398   1.494   146   15.6

    * 125P/Spacewatch

    m1 = 13.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  12 47.13    9 23.2   1.551   1.131    92   16.6
1996- 7- 6  13  8.33    6 45.3   1.542   1.180    88   16.7
1996- 7-16  13 31.09    3 54.8   1.540   1.232    85   16.8
1996- 7-26  13 55.17    0 56.7   1.544   1.289    83   16.9
1996- 8- 5  14 20.34   -2  3.4   1.554   1.351    80   17.0
1996- 8-15  14 46.42   -5  0.3   1.571   1.420    78   17.2
1996- 8-25  15 13.27   -7 48.8   1.593   1.497    76   17.4
1996- 9- 4  15 40.70  -10 24.3   1.620   1.581    73   17.6

    * 96P/Machholz 1

    m1 = 13.0 + 5 log d + 12.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  23 21.22  -61  5.2   2.424   1.781   117   18.9
1996- 7- 6  23 34.66  -66 20.5   2.269   1.590   119   18.3
1996- 7-16  23 49.91  -72 39.9   2.109   1.425   118   17.7
1996- 7-26   0 12.02  -80  0.8   1.944   1.288   114   17.0
1996- 8- 5   2 15.98  -87 58.3   1.772   1.181   107   16.3
1996- 8-15  11 28.33  -82 43.2   1.591   1.102    97   15.6
1996- 8-25  11 57.66  -73 41.2   1.400   1.044    85   14.8
1996- 9- 4  12 11.16  -64 33.9   1.198   1.000    73   13.9

    * P/1987 U1 (Shoemaker-Holt 1)

    m1 = 8.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  23 16.05    0 13.9   4.009   3.626   104   17.3
1996- 7- 6  23 17.93    0  5.2   3.981   3.460   113   17.2
1996- 7-16  23 18.37    0 15.0   3.954   3.305   123   17.1
1996- 7-26  23 17.31    0 14.5   3.926   3.164   132   16.9
1996- 8- 5  23 14.79    0  3.3   3.899   3.040   143   16.8
1996- 8-15  23 10.91    0 18.4   3.871   2.938   153   16.7
1996- 8-25  23  5.94    0 49.5   3.844   2.862   164   16.6
1996- 9- 4  23  0.26   -1 27.9   3.817   2.813   174   16.6

    * 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1

    m1 = 6.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  15 52.63  -19  8.0   3.849   2.969   145   17.1
1996- 7- 6  15 49.14  -19 17.3   3.840   3.052   135   17.2
1996- 7-16  15 47.32  -19 30.9   3.831   3.154   125   17.2
1996- 7-26  15 47.29  -19 48.9   3.822   3.271   115   17.3
1996- 8- 5  15 49.03  -20 11.1   3.814   3.398   106   17.4
1996- 8-15  15 52.48  -20 37.2   3.806   3.532    97   17.4
1996- 8-25  15 57.53  -21  6.5   3.798   3.670    89   17.5
1996- 9- 4  16  4.04  -21 38.0   3.791   3.808    81   17.6

    * P/1996 A1 (Jedicke)

    m1 = 3.0 + 5 log d + 17.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   9 44.83    7 21.9   4.341   4.901    51   17.3
1996- 7- 6   9 54.19    6 39.7   4.357   5.025    44   17.4
1996- 7-16  10  3.89    5 53.0   4.373   5.136    37   17.4
1996- 7-26  10 13.85    5  2.3   4.390   5.233    30   17.5
1996- 8- 5  10 23.99    4  8.0   4.407   5.315    23   17.6
1996- 8-15  10 34.23    3 10.6   4.425   5.382    17   17.6
1996- 8-25  10 44.51    2 10.6   4.444   5.431    11   17.7
1996- 9- 4  10 54.76    1  8.7   4.462   5.464     6   17.7

    * C/1995 Y1 (Hyakutake)

    m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   0 14.83   38 29.6   2.157   2.149    76   17.2
1996- 7- 6   0 17.89   38 42.0   2.275   2.143    84   17.5
1996- 7-16   0 17.75   38 37.2   2.393   2.130    92   17.8
1996- 7-26   0 14.43   38 10.8   2.510   2.113   100   18.1
1996- 8- 5   0  8.20   37 18.2   2.627   2.098   110   18.4
1996- 8-15  23 59.54   35 55.4   2.742   2.091   120   18.7
1996- 8-25  23 49.23   34  0.0   2.857   2.099   130   18.9
1996- 9- 4  23 38.26   31 33.9   2.971   2.128   139   19.2

    * 7P/Pons-Winnecke

    m1 = 10.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26   2 21.96   -7 19.9   2.280   2.499    65   17.4
1996- 7- 6   2 34.68   -7 12.2   2.355   2.465    71   17.5
1996- 7-16   2 45.68   -7 19.1   2.430   2.424    78   17.7
1996- 7-26   2 54.78   -7 40.5   2.503   2.377    85   17.9
1996- 8- 5   3  1.80   -8 15.8   2.576   2.327    92   18.0
1996- 8-15   3  6.55   -9  4.1   2.647   2.275   100   18.1
1996- 8-25   3  8.79  -10  3.6   2.718   2.226   108   18.3
1996- 9- 4   3  8.39  -11 11.2   2.788   2.183   116   18.4

    * C/1996 B1 (Szczepanski)

    m1 = 4.2 + 5 log d + 30.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  10 22.62  -28  3.9   2.404   2.405    77   17.5
1996- 7- 6  10 35.85  -29 52.4   2.503   2.594    73   18.2
1996- 7-16  10 49.63  -31 41.4   2.602   2.780    69   18.9
1996- 7-26  11  3.89  -33 31.7   2.703   2.962    65   19.5
1996- 8- 5  11 18.53  -35 23.4   2.803   3.140    61   20.1
1996- 8-15  11 33.54  -37 16.5   2.904   3.313    57   20.7
1996- 8-25  11 48.87  -39 11.1   3.005   3.479    54   21.2
1996- 9- 4  12  4.50  -41  6.8   3.105   3.640    50   21.8

    * P/1990 R2 (Holt-Olmstead)

    m1 = 11.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r 
       Date       R.A.      Decl.      r       d    Elong   m1  
1996- 6-26  22 29.88  -28 49.2   2.638   1.927   124   18.7
1996- 7- 6  22 31.64  -29 18.8   2.603   1.803   132   18.5
1996- 7-16  22 30.59  -29 55.7   2.569   1.695   141   18.3
1996- 7-26  22 26.63  -30 35.2   2.535   1.605   149   18.1
1996- 8- 5  22 19.94  -31 10.4   2.502   1.536   157   17.9
1996- 8-15  22 11.10  -31 33.1   2.470   1.490   161   17.8
1996- 8-25  22  1.16  -31 35.5   2.439   1.469   158   17.6
1996- 9- 4  21 51.46  -31 12.9   2.409   1.472   151   17.6

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