Monthly Information about Comets from Mid-June to July, 1997

Japanese version Home page	Updated on June 21, 1997
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Comets Ranking Bright Comets Faint Comets Ephemeris Table

Comets Ranking

Here is the ranking of comets from mid-June to July, 1997. C/1995 O1 ( Hale-Bopp ) has really become a great comet. Though it has been observable for an exceptionally long time, it set in the west in May and now under the horizon. In the southern hemisphere, it will appear at dawn in July as 4 mag. 2P/Encke is very close to the Earth now. The distance from the Earth is smallest since the discovery. It is bright as 7 mag, but we in the northern hemisphere cannot see the comet. A new comet discovered by SOHO satellite from late April to early May, C/1997 H2 ( SOHO ), could never be observed on the earth finally. It should be already so faint. SOHO's another new comet discovered on June 10, C/1997 L2 ( SOHO ) will also appear at dusk. However it moves southwards and northern observers cannot see it. It is much fainter than C/1997 H2, so nobody will succeed to see it anyway. Many interesting new object have been discovered in this year. Most of them are faint but the three, C/1997 D1 ( Mueller ), C/1997 J1 ( Mueller ), C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy ) are bright as 13-14 mag in the evening sky. No. 1 C/1995 O1 ( Hale-Bopp ) 2.5 -> 4.5 mag No. 2 C/1997 L2 ( SOHO ) 4 -> 23.5 mag No. 3 2P/Encke 6.5 -> 11.5 mag No. 4 81P/Wild 2 10 -> 11.5 mag No. 5 85P/Boethin 11 -> 14 mag No. 6 C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy ) 13 -> 12.5 mag No. 7 43P/Wolf-Harrington 14.5 -> 13 mag No. 8 C/1996 J1 ( Evans-Drinkwater ) 13 -> 14 mag No. 9 C/1997 D1 ( Mueller ) 13.5 -> 13 mag No.10 C/1997 J1 ( Mueller ) 13.5 -> 14 mag No. 11 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 14 mag No. 12 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 18.5 -> 15 mag No. 13 65P/Gunn 15 mag No. 14 116P/Wild 4 15 -> 16 mag No. 15 103P/Hartley 2 17.5 -> 15 mag No. 16 46P/Wirtanen 15 -> 19 mag Other faint comets are as follows. 78P/Gehrels 2 16 -> 15.5 mag 100P/Hartley 1 15.5 -> 17 mag 95P/Chiron 15.5 -> 16 mag D/1978 R1 ( Haneda-Campos ) 18 -> 16 mag P/1989 U1 ( Helin-Roman-Alu 2 ) 18 -> 16.5 mag 48P/Johnson 17 -> 16.5 mag P/1990 R1 ( Mueller 2 ) 17.5 -> 16.5 mag 121P/Shoemaker-Holt 2 17 -> 17.5 mag 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1 17 mag 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 17 -> 18 mag C/1997 G2 ( Montani ) 17 mag 124P/Mrkos 17 -> 18 mag C/1997 L1 ( Xinglong ) 17 -> 17.5 mag 94P/Russell 4 17.5 -> 18.5 mag 104P/Kowal 2 19.5 -> 17.5 mag (5145) Pholus 18 mag 91P/Russell 3 18 mag 1997 CU26 18 mag C/1996 P2 ( Russell-Watson ) 18 -> 18.5 mag 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh 19 -> 18.5 mag P/1996 A1 ( Jedicke ) 18.5 -> 19 mag 68P/Klemola 19 mag P/1997 B1 ( Kobayashi ) 19 -> 20 mag C/1997 BA6 ( Spacewatch ) 19 mag 49P/Arend-Rigaux 20 -> 19 mag 59P/Kearns-Kwee 19.5 -> 19 mag C/1997 H2 ( SOHO ) 19 -> 26 mag 1995 GO 19.5 mag P/1997 G1 ( Montani ) 19.5 mag 130P/McNaught-Hughes 19.5 mag P/1997 C1 ( Gehrels ) 19.5 -> 20 mag 32P/Comas Sola 20 -> 21 mag 96P/Machholz 1 21.5 -> 22.5 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

Bright Comets

C/1995 O1 ( Hale-Bopp ) [Finding Chart] Comet Hale-Bopp, which was called "One of the greatest comet in history", became really a great comet. We could see it easily with our naked eyes for over 4 months from when it appeared at dawn as 3 mag in January to when it set in the west as 2 mag in May. Around the perihelion date on Apr. 1, the comet kept 0 to -1 mag in March and April. We could see it even in the midst of a large city like Tokyo. Though the length of the tail was about several degrees or a bit more than 10 degrees, which is much shorter than that of comet Hyakutake in 1996, we could see the V-shaped ion and dust tail clearly. The shell structure near the nucleus surprised all the people who gazed the comet with a telescope. The picture showed the synchronic band for the first time since the comet West. Otherwise it yielded many astronomical discoveries such as sodium tail. On March 9, some succeeded to see it during the total solar eclipse and the comet was listed as one of the eclipse comets. We will have the second anniversary of this great comet next month. However the comet has set in the west in May and now under the horizon. It is moving southwards in Monoceros now. It comes to go far from the Sun after this. In the southern hemisphere it will appear at dawn as 4 mag in mid July but keep under the horizon until autumn for observers in the northern hemisphere. Then it appears at dawn in late September even in the northern hemisphere. It will locate in the very low sky in the southeast until October as 5-6 mag. However because the comet is moving southwards, it goes under the horizon again in November. Then it will never be seen again in the Northern Hemisphere. The comet will get faint slowly but only southern observers can trace it. The light curve of this comet for about two years cannot be indicated with one equation. As you know, it was so bright despite of the long distance, father than Jupiter at that time, and IAU released the prediction to be -2 mag at most. After that, the comet has brightened well along the first prediction until 1996 summer. However it suddenly stopped brightening in 1996 September and, on the contrary, turned to be fainter a bit. Though it began to brighten again after October, the peak magnitude should have be 0 mag, about 2 mag fainter than the first prediction. After 1997 autumn it has brightened well along the second prediction. But in late February 1997, about one month before the perihelion date, the comet turned to go brighter than the second equation. Because the distance from the Sun hardly changes around the perihelion, the brightness also seems to hardly change. But actually it accelerated brightening up and reached -1 mag at most. After perihelion passage, it is getting fainter more slowly than the pace just before the perihelion. These situation above is expressed by the following magnitude equations: m1 = -2.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r ( - 1996 Aug. 29) m1 = -0.3 + 5 log d + 7.5 log r (1996 Aug. 29 - 1997 Feb. 25) m1 = -0.7 + 5 log d + 16.9 log r (1997 Feb. 25 - 1997 Apr. 1) m1 = -0.9 + 5 log d + 9.4 log r (1997 Apr. 1 - ) The last equation shows the comet keeps 7 mag at the end of this year, and still brighter than 12 mag even at the end of 1998.

C/1997 L2 ( SOHO ) [Finding Chart (June 11 - July 1)] [Finding Chart (July 1 - July 31)] C/1997 L2 ( SOHO ) is a new comet discovered by the SOHO satellite (Solar Heliospheric Observatory) with the LASCO (Large Angle and Spectrometric COronagraph) on June 10 and 11. The orbital elements calculated with the SOHO's 2-day observations show that it was passing the perihelion on that day and was only 0.043 AU from the Sun. However the other parameters are quite different from those of Kreutz comets, so this is not a Kreutz comet. Except for Kreutz comets, this is the 8th sungrazer comet in order of perihelion distance. The brightness at the discovery was reported as about 5 mag. That is, the absolute magnitude m0 is 17.5 mag assuming a coefficient of log r as 10. If the coefficient of log r is 15, the absolute magnitude is so faint as 24. Here I adopt the middle of them, so the magnitude equation is: m1 = 21.0 + 5 log d + 12.5 log r The comet moves Taurus -> Orion -> Monoceros -> Canis Major in June, then it moves southwards across the Argo in July. It moves along the Milky Way, running after 2P/Encke. Because it moves southwards, northern observers cannot see it. In the southern hemisphere, it appears at dusk in late June. However the comet should have faded as 18 mag then by the equation above. The altitude rises gradually and it also appears at dawn after late July, though the predicted brightness should be 21 mag or fainter. SOHO has discovered another new small comet from late April to early May, C/1997 H2 ( SOHO ). We had a chance to see C/1997 H2 at dusk after mid May, but nobody could see it after all. Because C/1997 L2 is much fainter than C/1997 H2, it probably has already vanished. If it were still alive, it would be much fainter than the predicted magnitude by the equation above, so it is impossible to observe this comet.

2P/Encke [Finding Chart (June 11 - July 1)] [Finding Chart (July 1 - July 31)] 2P/Encke comes to be very close to the Earth in June and July. The distance is only 0.2 AU, which is smallest in the comet's history since the first appearance in 1786. However to be very sorry for northern observers, the comet can be seen only in the southern hemisphere. Because the comet is so close to us, it moves among constellations so fast. In June it passes from Monoceros to Canis Major, then moves southwards across the Argo in early July. It is only about 23 degrees from the South Pole on July 11. After that it passes among Circinus, Norma, then enters into Scorpius in late July. Though the comet has been too close to the Sun for a while, it appears in the southern low sky at dusk after mid June in the southern hemisphere. Then the altitude rises day by day. After mid July it locates high overhead at dusk and southern observers can see it with a good condition for a while. In mid July it is over the horizon all night. The comet moves through the southern Milky Way, as it swims in it, and meets many brilliant southern nebulae and clusters one by one. Here is a list of main approaches. Date Approach June 14-15 1 deg to Rosette Nebula 25 5 deg to Sirius 28 1.5 deg to a nebula-cluster complex NGC2362(4.0 mag, 8') July 1 1-2 deg to open clusters NGC2457(2.7mag, 45') and NGC2477(5.8 mag, 27') 4 2-3 deg to open clusters IC2391(2.5 mag, 50') and IC2395(4.5 mag, 8') 8 1 deg to Southern Pleiades IC2602(1.8 mag, 50') 9 4 deg to a nebula-cluster complex IC2944(4.5 mag, 75') 13-16 4-6 deg to alpha and beta Centauri 18 2 deg to an open cluster NGC6250(5.9 mag, 8') 19-20 2 deg to an open cluster NGC6087(5.4 mag, 12') 20 1.5 deg to an open cluster NGC6067(5.5 mag, 13') 24-26 1.5 deg to an open cluster NGC6193(5.1 mag, 15') 28-29 1.5 deg to an open cluster NGC6250(5.9 mag, 8') The comet has already passed the perihelion on May 23. Therefore, though it keeps 7-8 mag in June, it begins to fade out rapidly after July because it begins to go away from the Earth, too. It will reach 11.5 mag in late July. By the way, when 2P/Encke has been observed from last summer to winter, it was 19 mag all through the period and did never brighten at all. In addition, some Japanese tried to catch the comet around the perihelion date, when it was 5-6 mag and very low in the evening glow, but they all failed. These things imply the comet may actually be fainter than expected. On the other hand, the comet appears again in the south at dusk after August in the northern hemisphere. But it should have faded as 12-13 mag already. Then it is observable until late November as to be 19 mag.

81P/Wild 2 [Finding Chart] 81P/Wild 2 has been observed as 9-10 mag for over half a year since January. But it passed the perihelion on May 6 and now it is also going away from the Earth, so it is getting fainter gradually. In addition the Sun is coming up with it and the time to see it is getting shorter and shorter. It moves from Leo to Virgo this month. Mars is very near. The comet locates in the evening sky and becomes low in the west in late July, when it fades out as 11.5 mag. The comet has brightened as 16.5 mag in September, 1996, 15 mag in October, 14 mag in November, 12.5 mag in December and reached 9-10 mag in January. That is a bit brighter than expected and suggests that it reaches 8 mag from March to May. However it keeps 9 mag after all. The change of the magnitude is along the equation: m1 = 4.8 + 5 log d + 21.8 log r This comet is a target of NASA's Stardust mission in 2004. The spacecraft launched in 1999 will capture the samples of the comet and bring them back to the Earth.

85P/Boethin [Finding Chart] Comet 85P/Boethin, in its third return, has not detected yet because the condition is worst. It should pass the perihelion on Apr. 17 and reach 9.5 mag then. But then it is only 5 deg from the Sun and never observable on the Earth. It is still too close to the Sun now. It will appear at dawn in October, but then it is as faint as 17 mag. It was not observed in last summer when it has been 18-19 mag at opposition. In addition, though it located in the field of SOHO's coronagraph LASCO around the perihelion date, no images have been found so far. These things imply that the comet may actually be much fainter.

C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy ) [Finding Chart] A new comet discovered as 14 mag on May 7. It was discovered while tracing another new comet C/1997 J1 ( Mueller ) discovered four days before. C/1997 J2 was found in the field of C/1997 J1 by chance. The both had quite same brightness at that time. In addition a new supernova 1997 bp discovered on Apr. 7 was still 15 mag and only about 3 deg from them. Because the comet is far, 4.3 AU from the Earth, it moves slightly. It still locates between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. It is near by M81 and M82 in June. We in the northern hemisphere can see the comet all night, very high in the north at dusk and low at dawn. The brightness is 12.5-13 mag, bright enough to take the photo or CCD images. It will pass the perihelion in next March. Because the perihelion distance is large as 3 AU, we can observe it as 11 mag for about one year from 1997 autumn to 1998 autumn. In 1997 it is in the northern sky, then it moves southwards among the autumn constellations. The ephemeris shows it keeps observable as 16 mag even in 2000.

43P/Wolf-Harrington [Finding Chart] 43P/Wolf-Harrington, which passes the perihelion on Sept. 29, has been too close to the Sun for a while. It must have brightened rapidly during the period. It locates in Aries in this month and begins to appear in the east at dawn. It should be as bright as 14.5 mag now, easy to take the image with a CCD camera. It moves into Taurus in July and the altitude rises day by day. It passes about 6 deg from Pleiades on July 10. It will reach 13 mag in late July. After this we can observe it as 12 mag in autumn and winter.

C/1996 J1 ( Evans-Drinkwater ) [Finding Chart] C/1996 J1 (Evans-Drinkwater) is a new comet discovered on May 10, 1996 as 16 mag. It had been observed until July 1996 with magnitude 13. After that, it has been too close to the Sun and not observable. It began to appear again at dawn in early May. But surprisingly, J. Kobayashi observed it and found that the comet was splitted into two nuclei, 10 mag and 13 mag separating with 81" distance. Z. Sekanina says the split happened in late July, 1996, just after the comet became too close to the Sun. The comet was observed as 13 mag recently. It is quite same as predicted with the pre-split observations in 1996. Now it is about one year since the separation and the outburst caused by the split may have finished already. A splitted comet often bursts out and brightens rapidly, then fades out rapidly after a while. So this comet may have been so bright when it was too close to the Sun. However the minimum distance from the Sun was 8 deg at least in December and January, that means the comet was a bit out of the field of SOHO's coronagraph LASCO. It moves from Triangulum to Perseus this month. It locates in the morning sky and the altitude rises day by day. It gets fainter gradually as 13 -> 14 mag.

C/1997 D1 ( Mueller ) [Finding Chart] C/1997 D1 ( Mueller ) is a new comet discovered by Jean Mueller on a plate of the second Palomar Sky Survey taken on Feb. 17. Though it was reported as 16 mag at the discovery, it was actually 1-3 mag brighter after that. It passes the perihelion on Oct. 11 and we will be able to observe it as 11-12 mag from autumn to winter, though the perihelion distance is far as 2.3 AU. It is moving southwards, from Lynx to Cancer. It is about 13 mag and seen low at dusk in the northwest. After June 20, it becomes too low to observe. Then it comes to be at conjunction with the Sun. It will appear again at dawn in September, when it is 12.5 mag.

C/1997 J1 ( Mueller ) [Finding Chart] C/1997 J1 ( Mueller ) is a new comet discovered by Jean Mueller on a plate of the second Palomar Sky Survey taken on May 3. Though it was reported as 14 mag at the discovery, it was actually a bit brighter, observed as about 12-14 mag after that. J. Mueller has discovered another new comet C/1997 D1 in this February and this is the second one in this year. The comet has passed the perihelion on the discovery day and is getting fainter now. But because the perihelion distance is far as 2.3 AU, we can observe it as 15 mag all through this year. The comet located high in the north at the discovery. It was near by C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy ) and supernova 1997 bp. But it will move southwards among winter constellations after this. This month it locates in Ursa Major and gets fainter slowly as 13.5 -> 14 mag. It becomes too low to see after July 20. After conjunction, it will appear again at dawn with 14.5 mag in September.

29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 [Finding Chart] 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 is now around the aphelion, but the orbit is almost a circle and looks as a same magnitude for years. It is still active and sometimes happens a small outburst. This year it bursted out and reached 11 mag in early February and late May. However the outburst continues for only a few days. Though the total magnitude keeps always 13 mag, the image is so diffused and as hard to observe as 16-17 mag comets. This comet should be patrolled continuously. But now it locates in the north of Crater and few stars are around. So it is hard to find the comet. Mars is in the neighborhood. It is in the evening sky. After early July it becomes too low to observe.

26P/Grigg-Skjellerup [Finding Chart] 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup, which passes the perihelion on Aug. 30, has been already observed as 20.8 mag in this January. This is a sort of comets which brighten rapidly around the perihelion. Though it is still so faint as 18.5 mag in mid June, it becomes 15 mag in late July and reaches 13 mag in August. However the condition of this return is worst and we cannot observe it at all. The comet has been already too low to observe in the west and the situation continues for a while after this. It begins to appear in very low evening sky in November, when it has faded out to 18 mag or fainter. So nobody can observe it then because of the low altitude. After that, it goes under the horizon again in December.

65P/Gunn [Finding Chart] 65P/Gunn has already passed the perihelion on July 24, 1996. Because the eccentricity is small and the orbit is like a circle, it still keeps 15 mag. It locates in Cetus now and begins to appear at dawn again. The condition of this return is good and it had been observed as 12 mag from May to July last year. It has been going gradually faint after that and observed as 13.5 mag in September. But no observations were reported after that, probably because it was in the southern area.

116P/Wild 4 [Finding Chart] 116P/Wild 4 has been observed as 12-13 mag from January to July in 1996. It was at conjunction with the Sun after that, then it began to appear again at dawn after this spring. It was observed as 14-16 mag in late May and early June, as bright as the prediction says. The comet locates in Sagittarius, at opposition and seen in the south at midnight this month. It has already passed the perihelion on Aug. 31, 1996, and will get fainter slowly, 15 -> 16 mag in this month.

103P/Hartley 2 [Finding Chart] 103P/Hartley 2, which passes the perihelion on Dec. 21, is expected to be as bright as 8 mag in next December and January. It was observed already in early May as 19.5 mag. The comet locates in Aquila, at opposition and seen overhead. It will brighten rapidly after this. Though it is 17.5 mag in mid June, it reaches 15 mag in late July and becomes bright enough to take the image with a CCD camera. It will be 10 mag in October and we can observe it visually for a long time until next February. By the way, at the last return in 1991, some reported that he observed the meteor shower of this comet from Nov. 10 to 12. The detected R.P. is (296, +13), near Altair in Aquila. It locates in the southwest at dusk in November.

46P/Wirtanen [Finding Chart] 46P/Wirtanen has passed the perihelion on Mar. 14. It has brightened rapidly after the day 150 days prior to the perihelion passage and reached 11 mag in late February and early March, when we could see it visually. The light curve in the period is: 18 mag in 1996 October, 15 mag in early December, 13 mag in early January, 12 mag in early February and 11 mag in late February. After the peak in early March, it has faded out as quickly as it brightened. The light curve is: 11 mag in late March, 12 mag in early May and 13.5 mag in late May. These steep light curves are expressed by the magnitude equation: m1 = 8.5 + 5 log d + 27.0 log r It predicts the comet is 14 mag or fainter now. The comet moves from Cancer to Leo this month. It is still in the evening western sky. But the Sun is coming up with it, so the comet becomes too low to observe in mid July. In addition, it is getting fainter and fainter: 15 -> 16.5 mag in late June and reaches 19 mag in late July.

Faint Comets

78P/Gehrels 2 [Finding Chart] will pass the perihelion on Aug. 7 and is expected to be 15 mag at that time. In this return it has already been observed last June as 20-21 mag. However no further observations are reported. Though the comet has been too close to the Sun this year, it should have become much brighter in the period. It moves in Aries to Taurus this month and begins to appear in the eastern sky at dawn. The magnitude is about 16. The comet passes between Pleiades and Hyades in mid and late July.

100P/Hartley 1 [Finding Chart] passed the perihelion on May 28. The comet has been observable at dawn since last autumn but no one could observe it for a while. Finally it was detected in January as 19 mag, which is 2.5 mag fainter than expected. However, it brightened rapidly after that, 17 mag in March, 15 mag in April. The light curve should be: m1 = 5.0 + 5 log d + 40.0 log r The coefficient of log r is so large as 40. Now the comet is going far from both the Sun and the Earth and fading as 15.5 -> 17 mag in this month. If it fades out as rapidly as it brightened, the comet reaches 20 mag in late September. It moves southwards from Virgo to Hydra. It is in dusk but becomes too low in the southwest to see in late July. By the way, the comet closes only 5 arcmin to supernova 1997 bp, that R. Evans discovered as 13.8 mag on Apr. 6. However the supernova should be much fainter than the 15-mag comet.

95P/Chiron [Finding Chart], whose period is about 50 years and which is also registered as an asteroid (2060), is 15-16 mag about 10 deg east of Spica. Though it has passed the perihelion in February, 1996, the magnitude changes slightly in a few years because of the large perihelion distance. As it was regarded as an asteroid before, the comet is stellar and not interesting. The current observations implies the object is a bit fainter than expected. It is seen at dusk now. In July it becomes too low to observe.

D/1978 R1 ( Haneda-Campos ) [Finding Chart] was missed at two returns after it was discovered in 1978. The prediction shows it passes the perihelion on Aug. 15. The comet is famous for the steep light curve. Though it is only 18 mag in mid June, it should be 15.5 mag around the perihelion date. Now it becomes to appear at dawn. It moves eastwards between Pisces and Cetus. It passes just south of Saturn in late June.

A new periodic comet discovered in 1989, P/1989 U1 ( Helin-Roman-Alu 2 ) [Finding Chart] is getting brighter for the perihelion on Nov. 10. Though it has been too close to the Sun and not observable for a while, it begins to appear at dawn now. The comet is probably as bright as 18 mag already. It brightens more and more after this. It becomes 16.5 mag in late July and reaches 14 mag around the perihelion. The position should not be so different from the prediction and the comet will be recovered soon. It locates in Pisces now and passes just north of Saturn in late July. P/1990 R1 ( Mueller 2 ), which is also unrecovered yet, is near. Those two periodic comets are almost same brightness and will be recovered at the same time.

48P/Johnson [Finding Chart], which passes the perihelion on Oct. 31, has been observed as 21 mag last spring. But it has been too close to the Sun and not observable for a while after that. The comet has brightened well in the period and was observed as 17 mag in late May after it began to appear at dawn. It locates in the northeast of Sagittarius, almost at opposition now. The magnitude is around 16. Now is the peak of this comet.

A new periodic comet discovered in 1990, P/1990 R1 ( Mueller 2 ) [Finding Chart] is also getting brighter for the perihelion on Nov. 22. Though it has been too close to the Sun and not observable for a while, it begins to appear at dawn now. The comet is probably as bright as 17.5 mag already. It brightens more and more after this. It becomes 16.5 mag in late July and reaches 15.5 mag around the perihelion. The position should not be so different from the prediction and the comet will be recovered soon. However, when it was at opposition as 18-19 mag last summer, it could not be recovered. So maybe it is a bit fainter. It locates in Pisces now and passes just north of Saturn in late July. P/1989 U1 ( Helin-Roman-Alu 2 ), which is also unrecovered yet, is near. Those two periodic comets are almost same brightness and will be recovered at the same time.

121P/Shoemaker-Holt 2 [Finding Chart] was much fainter , about 19 mag, than expected at the recovery in 1995. However it reaches about 13 mag after perihelion, as same as at the discovery in 1989. In 1989 it was discovered after perihelion, too. So this should be a kind of comet which becomes brighter after perihelion. The peak was this early spring, about half a year after the perihelion. The comet reached 13-14 mag at the peak and then began to fade out rapidly. It was 16.5 mag in late May and should be 17 mag or fainter now. It locates in Leo. In August it becomes too low to observe.

117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1 [Finding Chart] passed the perihelion on March 26. Though it was too close to the Sun at that time, the eccentricity is 0.18, almost a circle, and it can be observable as same magnitude for a long period. It was around 17 mag last year and it also 17 mag in this year. It locates in Capricornus in this month and the meridian transit is just after midnight.

118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 [Finding Chart] passed the perihelion on Jan. 12. This return is best, just at opposition around the perihelion date, and has been expected to come bright as 14.5 mag. But actually, it began to be much brighter after last October and reached 12 mag and could be observed visually in December. After that it faded out rapidly and reached 15 mag in early April. The comet will fade out 17 -> 18 mag this month and is seen very low sky at dusk. So now it is not observable already. The light curve before last October and that of the active 200-day period around the perihelion are as follows: m1 = 8.2 + 5 log d + 18 log r   (before October 1996) m1 = -6.0 + 5 log d + 60 log r   (around the perihelion)

A new comet C/1997 G2 ( Montani ) [Finding Chart] was discovered by Joe Montani only 3 days after his discovery of a new periodic comet P/P/1997 G1 ( Montani ). This comet is getting bright gradually as 18 -> 17 mag after that. It passes the perihelion in next April. However the perihelion distance is large as 3.1 AU and reaches only 15 mag at most. The comet moves southwards in Libra this month. It is seen in the south at dusk. After now the comet locates only in the southern sky. Therefore we in the northern hemisphere will become unable to observe the comet after this summer at all.

124P/Mrkos [Finding Chart] is returning for the first time. But the condition in the northern hemisphere is worst and we cannot observe it at all. It has passed the perihelion on last Nov. 9 and should have be 15 mag then. Now it is fading out and about 17 mag. It locates in Pavo also this month and not observable in the northern hemisphere. The comet is at opposition and seen overhead in the southern hemisphere, however, it was not observed at all after the recovery as 19.5 mag in autumn in 1995.

A new comet C/1997 L1 ( Xinglong ) [Finding Chart] was discovered as 17 mag on June 3 at Xinglong, China. It has already passed the perihelion in last November and goes only fainter after this. It should have been about 17 mag at the last opposition in last early summer, however, it located in southern sky and was not discovered then. Now it enters in the ecliptic belt and was caught by the asteroid search project. The comet moves northwards in Libra this month, aiming at a globular cluster M5. It is seen as 17 mag in the south at dusk.

94P/Russell 4 [Finding Chart] passed the perihelion on Feb. 3. The condition of this return is good and it was observed as around 16 mag from last winter to spring. But now it has faded out as 18 mag. It locates in the head of Virgo and becomes too low to observe in July.

104P/Kowal 2 [Finding Chart] passes the perihelion in next March. It has been already detected in this return as 19 mag in May just after the comet began to appear at dawn. It locates in Pegasus and rises high just after midnight this month. After this the comet brightens rapidly. Though it is so faint as 19.5 mag in mid June, it comes as 17.5 mag in late July, 15.5 mag in late September, 14.5 mag in late November. Then it can be observed as 14 mag until next spring.

An asteroid (5145) Pholus [Finding Chart], which was discovered on Jan. 9, 1992 as 17 mag, was quite a rare object. The orbital elements show that it moves on an orbit with 8.7AU perihelion distance and 90 year period. Because that is a member of Centaur asteroids like 95P/Chiron, which had been regarded as an asteroid for a long time and the true character is a comet, maybe this object is also a comet. But no coma was detected by the following observations. Though more than 5 years have already passed since the perihelion date, it can be observed still now. Because it is farther than Saturn, it hardly fades out and we can observe it for more than 10 years after this. It locates in Coma Berenices this month and seen at dusk. It is near a globular cluster M53.

91P/Russell 3 [Finding Chart], which passes the perihelion on Nov. 19, is about 18 mag in Crater at dusk now. It becomes too low to observe in July. Then it becomes a conjunction with the Sun. But the comet will be observable as 18 mag again from next spring to summer.

A new asteroid 1997 CU26 [Finding Chart], discovered as 18 mag on Feb. 15, is moving on an orbit with 13AU perihelion distance, farther than Saturn, and 60-year period. It means this object is a new member of Centaur asteroids like 95P/Chiron, etc. The perihelion date is 2004 and we will be able to observe it for more than 20 years. Maybe someone detects the coma of this object and it turns to be a comet. It locates in Cancer now but already too low to observe.

C/1996 P2 ( Russell-Watson ) [Finding Chart] was discovered on Aug. 10, 1996 as 13 mag. Though it has been too close to the Sun for a while, it begins to appear at dawn again in late July. The comet has already passed the perihelion on Mar. 1, 1996, but the perihelion distance is large as 2.0AU and it is going faint slowly. It should be as bright as 18 mag still now. It locates in Eridanus.

74P/Smirnova-Chernykh [Finding Chart] is now around the aphelion and in its faintest period as 18 mag. It will brighten slowly for the next perihelion in 2001. It is in Pisces this month and has just begun to appear at dawn again. Saturn is just north of the comet. In June an asteroid Vesta is near and the both close as about 20 arcmin on June 20.

A new periodic comet discovered in January 1996 as 17 mag, P/1996 A1 ( Jedicke ) [Finding Chart] is going faint slowly after that because of the large perihelion distance. From last winter, when it appeared again at dawn, to spring the comet was observed as 18 mag. Now it locates in north of Crater and is still about 18 mag. Mars is in the neighborhood. It is already low at dusk and becomes not observable in July. Though it becomes at opposition again in next spring, it should be already so faint as 20 mag.

68P/Klemola [Finding Chart] will pass the perihelion on next May 1. It has already detected in this return in this spring as 19.5-21.5 mag. This month it is in Virgo and seen at dusk. But it is still so faint as 19 mag. The comet becomes at conjunction with the Sun this summer and appears at dawn again in next spring, when it has brightened to be 14 mag. after that it will go fainter slowly.

P/1997 B1 ( Kobayashi ) [Finding Chart] is a new periodic comet with 26-year period discovered on Jan. 30 as 18 mag by Takao Kobayashi in Oizumi, Gunma, Japan. Because it was stellar, it was reported as an asteroid at first. But following observations clarified that it has a coma and tail, then it was registered as a comet. This discovery is the first case with CCD by an amateur. This is also the faintest new comet by an amateur. It is the 11th periodic comet discovered by Japanese. After the perihelion passage on March 2, the comet became more active. The image turned to be much more comet-like and the magnitude was about 1 mag brighter than before perihelion. However the comet is fading out rapidly now. This month it fades as 19 -> 20 mag. It locates in Crater and seen low at dusk. It becomes too low to observe in July.

An new asteroid 1997 BA6, discovered on Jan. 31 as 19.4 mag, was remarkable because it was found to move on a parabolic orbit like a comet by the orbital elements calculated with following observations. After a while a faint coma was detected and registered as a new comet C/1997 BA6 ( Spacewatch ) [Finding Chart]. It will pass the perihelion in November 1999 and is expected to be bright as 14 mag. However it locates near the South Pole around the perihelion and cannot be observed in the northern hemisphere. Now it is so far as 8 AU from the Sun and keeps faint for a while. Though it is already too low to observe, it will appear again at dawn in next October as 18.5 mag.

49P/Arend-Rigaux [Finding Chart] will pass the perihelion on July 12, 1998, but it has not yet detected in this return. It locates in Aquarius and is seen as 20 -> 19 mag in the south at dawn. So it will be detected soon. It closes about 1.5 deg to the Helix Nebula on Aug. 11. In this year we can observe the comet until it becomes too low at dusk in autumn, when it reaches 18 mag. However the condition of this return is worst and we cannot see it around the perihelion date. After perihelion it begins to appear again in 1999, when it already fades as 17 mag.

59P/Kearns-Kwee [Finding Chart] will pass the perihelion on September 16, 1999, but it has not yet detected in this return, either. It locates in Capricornus and is seen as 19 mag in the south after midnight. So it will be detected soon. It closes about 15 arcmin to Uranus around Aug. 12. Though the comet is so faint as 19 mag in this year, it reaches 12 mag in late 1999.

C/1997 H2 ( SOHO ) [Finding Chart (June 11 - July 1)] [Finding Chart (July 1 - July 31)] is a new comet discovered by the SOHO satellite (Solar Heliospheric Observatory) with the LASCO (Large Angle and Spectrometric COronagraph). The comet was photoed by chance from Apr. 29 to May 4 as 2-5 mag. The orbital elements calculated with the photo images show that it passed the perihelion on May 2 and the distance from the Sun is 0.14 AU then. The elements also implied that the comet would appear at dusk after mid May as 9 mag and go fading gradually. However the orbit is quite uncertain and many people tried to see it but nobody succeeded after all. One of them could not find any image of comets brighter than 11 mag on a photo taken on May 17. If the SOHO comet has become already 13 mag on that day, the magnitude equation should be: m1 = 18.0 + 5 log d + 18.0 log r Here I predict with the equation. This comet fades so rapidly because of the small perihelion distance. The equation above means the comet is already so faint as 19 mag in mid June. On the other hand, the equation calculated with the SOHO's observations is: m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r which means the comet is still 12 mag in mid June and 14 mag in late July. The comet moves Sextans -> Leo -> the head of Virgo. It keeps 20-deg altitude at dusk in June but becomes low in July. Anyway nobody has succeeded to see the comet yet. So we can no longer see it. It implies the existence of many small comets which goes away without being observed on the Earth in spite of the small perihelion distance and bright magnitude around the perihelion.

A Centaur type asteroid discovered in 1995, 1995 GO [Finding Chart], is now 11 AU from the Sun, farther than Saturn, and so faint as 19 mag. So only few observations seem to be reported. This object will pass the perihelion in 2002. Then it is about 7 AU from the Sun and reaches 17 mag. This object also has a possibility to turn to be a comet. Now it is just southwest of Spica. It becomes too low to observe in July.

A new periodic comet discovered by Joe Montani on Apr. 9 as 19 mag, P/1997 G1 ( Montani ) [Finding Chart] passed the perihelion on Apr. 26. But because the perihelion distance is large as 4 AU, it will not fade out soon. Though the comet is already too low to observe at dusk already, it will appear again at dawn in October as 19.5 mag. Then we will observe it as 19 mag until next spring.

130P/McNaught-Hughes [Finding Chart] will pass the perihelion on next Feb. 23. It has already recovered by J. V. Scotti and A. Nakamura in April as 20 mag. It locates in Libra, in the south at dusk this month. It is so faint as 19 mag. This is quite a small comet that it reaches only 19 mag at most even at opposition in next spring.

A new comet discovered by Tom Gehrels on Feb. 1 as 18 mag was found to be a new periodic one and registered as P/1997 C1 ( Gehrels ) [Finding Chart]. More than one year has passed already at the discovery since the perihelion passage and the comet should have get fainter. However it actually faded out more rapidly than expected, 18.5 -> 19.5 mag from March to May. It locates in Leo this month. It is too low at dusk and hardly observable now. The comet is so faint as 20 mag already.

32P/Comas Sola [Finding Chart] has brightened as 14 mag in the first half of 1996. Then it became at conjunction with the Sun and has been not observable for a while. After it appeared again at dawn, it faded as 17 -> 18 mag from January to March. However it was observed about 1-2 mag brighter than expected after that. Though the prediction shows the magnitude of the comet is 20 -> 21 mag in this month, it should be a bit brighter actually. It still locates in Virgo and is seen in the south at dusk.

96P/Machholz 1 [Finding Chart] has passed the perihelion on last Oct. 15. It has been detected on the perihelion date by SOHO satellite as 4.5 mag. The SOHO's observations were reported to IAU in May and this return of the comet was announced regularly. The condition of this return is worst to see the comet in the northern hemisphere and could never observe it. It has been slightly observable in August and September in the southern hemisphere, but no observations succeeded. So it seemed impossible to observe this comet on the earth in this return. However K. J. Meech, et. al., at University of Hawaii succeeded to observe the comet in mid April. It was about 19 mag. Now it is fainter than 21 mag and not observable already for many people.

Ephemeris Table

C/1995 O1 ( Hale-Bopp ) m1 = -0.9 + 5 log d + 9.4 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 6 11.53 5 56.8 1.513 2.411 21 2.7 1997- 6-21 6 27.00 2 5.1 1.639 2.531 22 3.1 1997- 7- 1 6 41.29 -1 37.6 1.765 2.637 24 3.5 1997- 7-11 6 54.61 -5 16.2 1.893 2.727 28 3.9 1997- 7-21 7 7.06 -8 54.5 2.020 2.804 32 4.2 1997- 7-31 7 18.70 -12 35.2 2.146 2.868 36 4.5

C/1997 L2 ( SOHO ) m1 = 21.0 + 5 log d + 12.5 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 5 19.29 25 14.4 0.043 1.032 2 4.0 1997- 6-21 6 13.17 2 33.3 0.472 0.650 21 16.0 1997- 7- 1 7 17.34 -25 15.9 0.771 0.627 49 18.6 1997- 7-11 8 32.26 -44 32.9 1.022 0.755 68 20.5 1997- 7-21 9 48.81 -54 27.4 1.246 0.954 78 22.1 1997- 7-31 10 58.22 -59 1.7 1.452 1.184 82 23.4

2P/Encke m1 = 11.0 + 5 log d + 12.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 6 23.33 9 35.8 0.575 0.501 20 6.6 1997- 6-21 6 47.74 -4 53.3 0.760 0.318 30 7.1 1997- 7- 1 7 48.65 -36 6.4 0.937 0.202 61 7.2 1997- 7-11 12 46.14 -67 39.8 1.102 0.220 107 8.2 1997- 7-21 16 20.33 -54 40.1 1.256 0.350 126 9.9 1997- 7-31 17 9.06 -45 2.2 1.400 0.520 128 11.3

81P/Wild 2 m1 = 4.8 + 5 log d + 21.8 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 10 55.01 10 27.2 1.622 1.436 80 10.2 1997- 6-21 11 20.34 7 49.7 1.646 1.521 78 10.4 1997- 7- 1 11 45.42 5 7.0 1.676 1.613 75 10.7 1997- 7-11 12 10.18 2 22.4 1.710 1.712 72 11.0 1997- 7-21 12 34.57 -0 20.8 1.749 1.818 69 11.4 1997- 7-31 12 58.61 -2 59.7 1.792 1.929 66 11.7

85P/Boethin m1 = 6.5 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 5 34.70 26 0.3 1.379 2.388 4 11.2 1997- 6-21 6 11.13 26 14.7 1.454 2.466 3 11.7 1997- 7- 1 6 45.31 25 58.1 1.535 2.550 3 12.3 1997- 7-11 7 17.08 25 16.8 1.621 2.635 3 12.8 1997- 7-21 7 46.41 24 16.7 1.709 2.719 5 13.3 1997- 7-31 8 13.40 23 3.1 1.800 2.799 8 13.8

C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy ) m1 = 3.7 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 10 54.07 71 46.3 4.022 4.320 66 12.9 1997- 6-21 11 3.36 71 0.9 3.963 4.312 63 12.9 1997- 7- 1 11 15.96 70 14.3 3.905 4.291 61 12.8 1997- 7-11 11 31.50 69 27.0 3.848 4.257 59 12.7 1997- 7-21 11 49.65 68 38.7 3.792 4.211 59 12.6 1997- 7-31 12 10.17 67 48.9 3.738 4.153 59 12.5

43P/Wolf-Harrington m1 = 8.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 2 28.91 25 54.5 1.913 2.604 38 14.3 1997- 6-21 2 56.19 27 19.3 1.862 2.503 41 14.0 1997- 7- 1 3 24.75 28 27.6 1.815 2.402 44 13.8 1997- 7-11 3 54.50 29 15.5 1.770 2.304 46 13.5 1997- 7-21 4 25.22 29 39.3 1.729 2.208 49 13.3 1997- 7-31 4 56.63 29 35.6 1.692 2.115 52 13.1

C/1996 J1 ( Evans-Drinkwater ) m1 = 6.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 2 5.44 31 4.5 2.601 3.248 43 13.2 1997- 6-21 2 19.87 32 38.7 2.708 3.270 48 13.4 1997- 7- 1 2 32.95 34 4.9 2.815 3.279 54 13.6 1997- 7-11 2 44.54 35 24.0 2.921 3.277 60 13.7 1997- 7-21 2 54.47 36 36.5 3.027 3.264 67 13.9 1997- 7-31 3 2.58 37 42.7 3.132 3.241 74 14.0

C/1997 D1 ( Mueller ) m1 = 6.8 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 8 19.41 38 42.6 2.641 3.313 41 13.6 1997- 6-21 8 18.68 36 43.7 2.585 3.379 32 13.6 1997- 7- 1 8 19.17 34 52.1 2.532 3.421 24 13.5 1997- 7-11 8 20.45 33 6.5 2.482 3.436 17 13.4 1997- 7-21 8 22.17 31 25.5 2.437 3.422 11 13.3 1997- 7-31 8 24.03 29 47.7 2.396 3.379 12 13.2

C/1997 J1 ( Mueller ) m1 = 7.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 9 17.98 58 33.1 2.345 2.774 55 13.4 1997- 6-21 9 14.57 54 57.6 2.369 2.928 47 13.6 1997- 7- 1 9 14.16 51 50.4 2.397 3.068 41 13.7 1997- 7-11 9 15.50 49 7.7 2.431 3.190 35 13.9 1997- 7-21 9 17.81 46 46.2 2.469 3.290 30 14.0 1997- 7-31 9 20.61 44 42.8 2.511 3.365 27 14.1

29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 m1 = 4.0 + 5 log d + 7.5 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 11 39.50 -6 25.0 6.275 6.059 97 13.9 1997- 6-21 11 41.64 -6 29.6 6.275 6.215 88 13.9 1997- 7- 1 11 44.62 -6 40.1 6.274 6.371 79 14.0 1997- 7-11 11 48.36 -6 56.3 6.274 6.522 71 14.1 1997- 7-21 11 52.78 -7 17.8 6.273 6.666 63 14.1 1997- 7-31 11 57.79 -7 44.1 6.273 6.799 55 14.1

26P/Grigg-Skjellerup m1 = 15.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r (before July 6) m1 = 12.0 + 5 log d + 40.0 log r (after July 6) Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 7 27.31 8 6.3 1.455 2.172 34 18.3 1997- 6-21 7 55.44 7 46.0 1.370 2.120 32 18.0 1997- 7- 1 8 25.83 7 8.8 1.287 2.064 29 17.7 1997- 7-11 8 58.55 6 14.2 1.210 2.005 28 16.8 1997- 7-21 9 33.63 5 2.1 1.141 1.947 27 15.7 1997- 7-31 10 11.05 3 33.9 1.082 1.892 26 14.8

65P/Gunn m1 = 7.7 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 0 32.63 -7 22.9 3.075 3.162 75 15.1 1997- 6-21 0 41.24 -6 53.0 3.105 3.059 83 15.0 1997- 7- 1 0 48.50 -6 33.8 3.135 2.954 90 15.0 1997- 7-11 0 54.23 -6 25.9 3.165 2.848 98 15.0 1997- 7-21 0 58.25 -6 29.8 3.196 2.746 107 14.9 1997- 7-31 1 0.42 -6 45.3 3.226 2.649 115 14.9

116P/Wild 4 m1 = 1.4 + 5 log d + 27.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 19 56.94 -26 11.4 2.822 1.939 143 15.0 1997- 6-21 19 50.13 -26 40.1 2.864 1.912 154 15.1 1997- 7- 1 19 41.58 -27 7.3 2.906 1.910 165 15.3 1997- 7-11 19 32.17 -27 29.3 2.947 1.934 174 15.5 1997- 7-21 19 22.93 -27 43.8 2.989 1.986 168 15.7 1997- 7-31 19 14.78 -27 49.9 3.030 2.065 158 16.0

103P/Hartley 2 m1 = 8.5 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 19 55.94 -1 36.7 2.493 1.661 135 17.5 1997- 6-21 19 50.78 -0 16.1 2.410 1.511 144 17.0 1997- 7- 1 19 42.68 0 55.0 2.326 1.381 151 16.5 1997- 7-11 19 31.89 1 50.5 2.240 1.273 155 16.0 1997- 7-21 19 19.15 2 24.3 2.153 1.189 154 15.5 1997- 7-31 19 5.67 2 31.7 2.064 1.129 148 15.1

46P/Wirtanen m1 = 8.5 + 5 log d + 27.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 8 47.52 26 44.8 1.551 2.044 47 15.2 1997- 6-21 9 20.17 24 38.3 1.635 2.173 45 15.9 1997- 7- 1 9 49.72 22 20.1 1.720 2.308 43 16.7 1997- 7-11 10 16.61 19 56.0 1.805 2.447 40 17.4 1997- 7-21 10 41.27 17 30.5 1.890 2.588 37 18.0 1997- 7-31 11 4.06 15 6.4 1.974 2.728 34 18.7

78P/Gehrels 2 m1 = 7.5 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 2 24.78 15 18.2 2.055 2.705 41 15.9 1997- 6-21 2 47.68 16 45.4 2.038 2.623 45 15.8 1997- 7- 1 3 10.81 18 1.6 2.024 2.539 49 15.6 1997- 7-11 3 34.07 19 5.3 2.013 2.454 52 15.5 1997- 7-21 3 57.28 19 55.4 2.005 2.369 56 15.4 1997- 7-31 4 20.28 20 31.1 2.001 2.283 61 15.3

100P/Hartley 1 m1 = 2.0 + 5 log d + 50.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 12 41.50 -8 27.5 1.822 1.172 112 15.4 1997- 6-21 12 48.13 -12 7.1 1.830 1.267 105 15.6 1997- 7- 1 12 57.64 -15 34.9 1.841 1.369 99 15.9 1997- 7-11 13 9.65 -18 51.2 1.856 1.477 94 16.3 1997- 7-21 13 23.85 -21 56.5 1.875 1.588 89 16.7 1997- 7-31 13 39.99 -24 50.9 1.897 1.702 84 17.1

95P/Chiron m1 = 4.0 + 5 log d + 7.5 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 13 36.27 -9 45.1 8.634 8.002 125 15.5 1997- 6-21 13 35.83 -9 39.1 8.642 8.148 116 15.6 1997- 7- 1 13 36.07 -9 37.2 8.649 8.305 106 15.6 1997- 7-11 13 37.00 -9 39.4 8.657 8.470 97 15.7 1997- 7-21 13 38.60 -9 45.6 8.665 8.639 88 15.7 1997- 7-31 13 40.85 -9 55.5 8.673 8.807 79 15.8

D/1978 R1 ( Haneda-Campos ) m1 = 13.0 + 5 log d + 25.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 0 21.02 -3 29.5 1.488 1.344 76 18.0 1997- 6-21 0 54.22 -0 15.8 1.431 1.254 77 17.4 1997- 7- 1 1 28.92 3 4.4 1.381 1.178 77 16.9 1997- 7-11 2 4.90 6 24.1 1.338 1.117 77 16.4 1997- 7-21 2 41.80 9 35.4 1.305 1.071 77 16.0 1997- 7-31 3 19.10 12 30.1 1.281 1.038 77 15.8

P/1989 U1 ( Helin-Roman-Alu 2 ) m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 0 9.09 3 9.8 2.331 2.343 76 17.9 1997- 6-21 0 24.87 4 37.6 2.285 2.190 82 17.6 1997- 7- 1 0 40.40 6 0.2 2.241 2.039 87 17.3 1997- 7-11 0 55.52 7 15.6 2.198 1.893 93 17.0 1997- 7-21 1 10.10 8 21.8 2.157 1.751 98 16.7 1997- 7-31 1 23.92 9 17.0 2.119 1.615 105 16.4

48P/Johnson m1 = 10.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 19 41.96 -15 16.8 2.500 1.600 145 17.0 1997- 6-21 19 38.67 -16 12.8 2.476 1.516 155 16.8 1997- 7- 1 19 33.33 -17 23.5 2.453 1.454 166 16.7 1997- 7-11 19 26.55 -18 45.4 2.432 1.416 176 16.5 1997- 7-21 19 19.34 -20 12.9 2.412 1.404 170 16.5 1997- 7-31 19 12.79 -21 40.0 2.393 1.418 158 16.4

P/1990 R1 ( Mueller 2 ) m1 = 11.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 0 22.97 8 6.5 2.629 2.763 71 17.4 1997- 6-21 0 35.87 9 28.9 2.605 2.623 77 17.3 1997- 7- 1 0 48.06 10 45.3 2.583 2.482 84 17.1 1997- 7-11 0 59.36 11 54.0 2.561 2.341 90 16.9 1997- 7-21 1 9.55 12 53.7 2.541 2.203 97 16.8 1997- 7-31 1 18.40 13 42.7 2.522 2.068 104 16.6

121P/Shoemaker-Holt 2 m1 = 6.7 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 10 52.18 25 3.5 3.168 3.273 75 16.8 1997- 6-21 11 2.29 23 33.3 3.197 3.424 68 16.9 1997- 7- 1 11 13.04 22 0.8 3.226 3.569 62 17.1 1997- 7-11 11 24.31 20 26.7 3.255 3.709 56 17.2 1997- 7-21 11 35.98 18 51.6 3.285 3.841 50 17.4 1997- 7-31 11 47.97 17 16.4 3.315 3.964 44 17.5

117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1 m1 = 6.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 21 8.28 -25 33.2 3.726 3.017 127 17.0 1997- 6-21 21 7.20 -26 10.9 3.729 2.917 137 16.9 1997- 7- 1 21 4.34 -26 53.6 3.732 2.837 147 16.8 1997- 7-11 20 59.88 -27 38.6 3.736 2.779 157 16.8 1997- 7-21 20 54.20 -28 22.3 3.740 2.747 165 16.8 1997- 7-31 20 47.79 -29 1.2 3.745 2.743 169 16.8

118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 m1 = 8.2 + 5 log d + 18.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 8 50.19 17 25.2 2.321 2.839 50 17.0 1997- 6-21 9 9.79 16 25.6 2.357 2.959 45 17.3 1997- 7- 1 9 29.07 15 18.1 2.394 3.074 40 17.5 1997- 7-11 9 48.00 14 3.9 2.432 3.184 35 17.7 1997- 7-21 10 6.54 12 44.1 2.471 3.288 30 17.9 1997- 7-31 10 24.70 11 20.0 2.510 3.384 25 18.0

C/1997 G2 ( Montani ) m1 = 8.3 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 15 3.35 -13 3.2 4.254 3.368 146 17.2 1997- 6-21 14 54.26 -14 9.8 4.192 3.406 135 17.2 1997- 7- 1 14 46.61 -15 19.9 4.132 3.468 124 17.2 1997- 7-11 14 40.67 -16 33.2 4.072 3.550 114 17.1 1997- 7-21 14 36.57 -17 49.7 4.013 3.644 104 17.1 1997- 7-31 14 34.31 -19 9.5 3.955 3.746 94 17.1

124P/Mrkos m1 = 12.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 21 54.41 -60 53.9 2.469 1.798 120 17.2 1997- 6-21 21 45.67 -62 27.7 2.531 1.799 125 17.3 1997- 7- 1 21 30.30 -63 43.3 2.594 1.813 130 17.4 1997- 7-11 21 9.39 -64 26.8 2.655 1.845 134 17.6 1997- 7-21 20 45.71 -64 27.1 2.716 1.897 135 17.7 1997- 7-31 20 22.82 -63 41.9 2.776 1.968 134 17.9

C/1997 L1 ( Xinglong ) m1 = 7.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 15 28.01 -5 23.0 5.127 4.236 148 17.2 1997- 6-21 15 23.48 -4 1.4 5.152 4.354 137 17.3 1997- 7- 1 15 20.05 -2 52.0 5.178 4.495 127 17.4 1997- 7-11 15 17.84 -1 54.6 5.205 4.655 117 17.5 1997- 7-21 15 16.88 -1 8.5 5.232 4.829 107 17.6 1997- 7-31 15 17.13 -0 32.4 5.261 5.011 98 17.7

94P/Russell 4 m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 12 15.02 4 7.5 2.394 1.973 101 17.7 1997- 6-21 12 24.29 2 30.7 2.419 2.111 94 17.9 1997- 7- 1 12 34.83 0 49.4 2.445 2.251 88 18.1 1997- 7-11 12 46.47 -0 55.0 2.472 2.394 82 18.3 1997- 7-21 12 59.00 -2 41.2 2.500 2.538 76 18.5 1997- 7-31 13 12.29 -4 27.8 2.530 2.680 70 18.7

104P/Kowal 2 m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 22 47.41 10 20.7 2.838 2.603 92 19.4 1997- 6-21 22 53.39 12 5.1 2.775 2.416 99 19.1 1997- 7- 1 22 57.94 13 47.9 2.711 2.234 106 18.7 1997- 7-11 23 0.75 15 26.7 2.646 2.058 114 18.4 1997- 7-21 23 1.53 16 58.5 2.581 1.893 122 18.1 1997- 7-31 23 0.02 18 19.2 2.515 1.740 129 17.7

(5145) Pholus m1 = 7.5 + 5 log d + 5.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 13 1.97 19 44.4 12.249 11.956 104 17.8 1997- 6-21 13 1.83 19 26.8 12.275 12.129 95 17.9 1997- 7- 1 13 2.18 19 6.0 12.301 12.305 87 17.9 1997- 7-11 13 3.03 18 42.6 12.327 12.481 78 17.9 1997- 7-21 13 4.36 18 17.3 12.353 12.652 70 18.0 1997- 7-31 13 6.13 17 50.6 12.380 12.814 62 18.0

91P/Russell 3 m1 = 5.3 + 5 log d + 25.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 11 27.95 -9 53.6 2.705 2.398 96 18.0 1997- 6-21 11 37.56 -9 48.4 2.683 2.499 89 18.0 1997- 7- 1 11 48.63 -9 57.0 2.662 2.601 82 18.0 1997- 7-11 12 0.97 -10 18.0 2.642 2.701 75 18.0 1997- 7-21 12 14.42 -10 49.8 2.624 2.800 69 18.0 1997- 7-31 12 28.85 -11 30.7 2.606 2.894 63 18.0

1997 CU26 m1 = 6.5 + 5 log d + 5.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 8 32.10 14 57.9 13.829 14.507 46 18.0 1997- 6-21 8 34.72 14 45.4 13.822 14.612 37 18.0 1997- 7- 1 8 37.57 14 31.5 13.815 14.696 28 18.0 1997- 7-11 8 40.60 14 16.4 13.808 14.757 20 18.0 1997- 7-21 8 43.74 14 0.3 13.801 14.794 11 18.0 1997- 7-31 8 46.94 13 43.3 13.794 14.806 4 18.1

C/1996 P2 ( Russell-Watson ) m1 = 5.6 + 5 log d + 12.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 3 15.26 -6 1.9 5.329 6.045 41 18.2 1997- 6-21 3 22.26 -5 49.2 5.412 6.038 48 18.3 1997- 7- 1 3 28.66 -5 43.7 5.495 6.016 54 18.4 1997- 7-11 3 34.37 -5 45.3 5.578 5.980 62 18.4 1997- 7-21 3 39.31 -5 53.7 5.660 5.934 69 18.5 1997- 7-31 3 43.40 -6 8.5 5.742 5.879 77 18.6

74P/Smirnova-Chernykh m1 = 8.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 1 7.28 0 45.2 4.722 5.069 64 18.8 1997- 6-21 1 13.26 1 13.2 4.717 4.923 72 18.7 1997- 7- 1 1 18.44 1 34.9 4.713 4.771 80 18.6 1997- 7-11 1 22.69 1 49.8 4.708 4.614 89 18.5 1997- 7-21 1 25.89 1 57.5 4.703 4.458 97 18.5 1997- 7-31 1 27.93 1 57.7 4.697 4.304 106 18.4

P/1996 A1 ( Jedicke ) m1 = 4.2 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 11 55.42 -5 55.2 5.361 5.073 101 18.7 1997- 6-21 11 58.27 -5 59.0 5.392 5.255 92 18.8 1997- 7- 1 12 2.03 -6 9.5 5.422 5.439 83 18.9 1997- 7-11 12 6.61 -6 26.3 5.453 5.621 75 19.0 1997- 7-21 12 11.91 -6 48.7 5.484 5.797 67 19.1 1997- 7-31 12 17.82 -7 16.1 5.515 5.965 59 19.2

68P/Klemola m1 = 9.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 14 16.04 -2 1.4 3.420 2.663 131 19.1 1997- 6-21 14 12.96 -1 56.7 3.357 2.714 121 19.1 1997- 7- 1 14 11.76 -2 5.3 3.294 2.778 111 19.0 1997- 7-11 14 12.51 -2 26.2 3.230 2.849 102 18.9 1997- 7-21 14 15.18 -2 57.9 3.165 2.925 94 18.8 1997- 7-31 14 19.70 -3 39.0 3.101 3.001 86 18.8

P/1997 B1 ( Kobayashi ) m1 = 13.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 10 56.32 -3 21.5 2.303 2.129 86 18.8 1997- 6-21 11 11.65 -5 5.3 2.350 2.278 81 19.0 1997- 7- 1 11 27.40 -6 50.3 2.399 2.430 76 19.2 1997- 7-11 11 43.45 -8 36.0 2.452 2.584 71 19.5 1997- 7-21 11 59.73 -10 21.6 2.507 2.739 66 19.7 1997- 7-31 12 16.16 -12 6.5 2.564 2.895 61 19.9

C/1997 BA6 ( Spacewatch ) m1 = 7.5 + 5 log d + 7.5 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 8 58.44 10 57.1 8.180 8.736 53 19.1 1997- 6-21 9 1.20 10 29.3 8.115 8.798 45 19.0 1997- 7- 1 9 4.40 9 58.7 8.050 8.841 36 19.0 1997- 7-11 9 7.97 9 25.3 7.985 8.863 28 19.0 1997- 7-21 9 11.84 8 49.3 7.920 8.863 20 19.0 1997- 7-31 9 15.91 8 10.7 7.855 8.840 13 18.9

49P/Arend-Rigaux m1 = 11.3 + 5 log d + 11.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 22 42.01 -15 32.5 3.677 3.298 103 20.1 1997- 6-21 22 44.92 -16 0.6 3.623 3.104 112 19.9 1997- 7- 1 22 46.25 -16 42.1 3.568 2.920 122 19.7 1997- 7-11 22 45.78 -17 37.8 3.512 2.750 131 19.5 1997- 7-21 22 43.37 -18 47.1 3.455 2.597 141 19.3 1997- 7-31 22 38.98 -20 8.0 3.397 2.466 152 19.1

59P/Kearns-Kwee m1 = 5.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 21 5.80 -18 17.4 5.256 4.586 126 19.6 1997- 6-21 21 3.24 -18 23.1 5.225 4.438 136 19.5 1997- 7- 1 20 59.47 -18 33.0 5.194 4.310 147 19.4 1997- 7-11 20 54.61 -18 46.1 5.162 4.206 157 19.3 1997- 7-21 20 48.93 -19 1.2 5.130 4.130 168 19.2 1997- 7-31 20 42.73 -19 16.7 5.098 4.083 178 19.2

C/1997 H2 ( SOHO ) m1 = 18.0 + 5 log d + 18.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 9 38.01 4 28.5 1.148 1.103 65 19.3 1997- 6-21 10 26.99 1 12.8 1.353 1.339 68 21.0 1997- 7- 1 11 2.48 -1 17.6 1.545 1.601 68 22.4 1997- 7-11 11 29.93 -3 18.7 1.727 1.875 65 23.6 1997- 7-21 11 52.41 -5 1.5 1.901 2.151 62 24.7 1997- 7-31 12 11.67 -6 32.1 2.067 2.427 57 25.6

1995 GO m1 = 9.0 + 5 log d + 5.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 13 5.18 -13 31.6 11.175 10.635 119 19.4 1997- 6-21 13 4.65 -13 28.0 11.143 10.751 110 19.4 1997- 7- 1 13 4.67 -13 27.5 11.111 10.876 100 19.4 1997- 7-11 13 5.25 -13 30.2 11.078 11.007 91 19.4 1997- 7-21 13 6.38 -13 36.2 11.046 11.138 82 19.5 1997- 7-31 13 8.03 -13 45.4 11.014 11.265 73 19.5

P/1997 G1 ( Montani ) m1 = 9.7 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 8 11.08 17 40.7 4.248 4.962 40 19.5 1997- 6-21 8 21.98 17 3.9 4.252 5.055 34 19.5 1997- 7- 1 8 33.15 16 23.0 4.256 5.134 27 19.5 1997- 7-11 8 44.49 15 38.3 4.262 5.198 20 19.6 1997- 7-21 8 55.93 14 50.0 4.268 5.246 14 19.6 1997- 7-31 9 7.38 13 58.4 4.274 5.278 7 19.6

130P/McNaught-Hughes m1 = 11.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 14 42.09 -9 14.7 2.780 1.921 140 19.6 1997- 6-21 14 38.18 -9 32.2 2.740 1.972 130 19.5 1997- 7- 1 14 36.65 -10 2.0 2.701 2.038 120 19.5 1997- 7-11 14 37.63 -10 43.3 2.662 2.115 111 19.5 1997- 7-21 14 41.05 -11 34.8 2.624 2.199 103 19.5 1997- 7-31 14 46.78 -12 34.7 2.586 2.288 95 19.5

P/1997 C1 ( Gehrels ) m1 = 2.7 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 9 25.57 12 28.1 4.624 5.053 59 19.5 1997- 6-21 9 33.63 11 53.4 4.658 5.211 52 19.6 1997- 7- 1 9 42.10 11 14.7 4.692 5.358 44 19.8 1997- 7-11 9 50.90 10 32.5 4.726 5.491 37 19.9 1997- 7-21 9 59.91 9 47.2 4.761 5.609 30 20.0 1997- 7-31 10 9.08 8 59.2 4.795 5.711 23 20.1

32P/Comas Sola m1 = 5.3 + 5 log d + 22.5 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 13 26.77 -1 40.1 3.510 2.887 120 19.9 1997- 6-21 13 27.13 -2 22.8 3.564 3.069 111 20.2 1997- 7- 1 13 29.11 -3 11.8 3.618 3.259 102 20.4 1997- 7-11 13 32.55 -4 5.9 3.672 3.456 94 20.7 1997- 7-21 13 37.25 -5 3.8 3.725 3.654 86 21.0 1997- 7-31 13 43.04 -6 4.6 3.777 3.851 78 21.2

96P/Machholz 1 m1 = 13.0 + 5 log d + 12.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 1997- 6-11 18 46.49 -23 35.6 3.477 2.508 159 21.5 1997- 6-21 18 31.05 -24 18.8 3.558 2.547 172 21.6 1997- 7- 1 18 15.78 -24 53.9 3.636 2.623 174 21.8 1997- 7-11 18 1.68 -25 20.5 3.711 2.733 161 22.0 1997- 7-21 17 49.54 -25 39.4 3.785 2.876 149 22.2 1997- 7-31 17 39.79 -25 52.8 3.857 3.047 137 22.5