Monthly Information about Comets from mid-April to May, 1998

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Comets Ranking Bright Comets Faint Comets Ephemeris Table

Comets Ranking

Here is the ranking of comets from mid-April to May, 1998. 55P/Tempel-Tuttle has gone and no bright comets are in the sky. The best one of this month is C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy ), getting higher in the morning, but not so bright, about 11 mag. 69P/Taylor has bursted out and reached to 11 mag at the peak. Although it is now fading out, it is still as bright as 13 mag. 62P/Tsuchinshan 1 has brightened more than expected. It is about 13 mag, too. Both are in the evening sky. C/1995 O1 ( Hale-Bopp ) in the southern sky has been fading out gradually and reached to 9.0 mag in late March. No. 1 C/1995 O1 ( Hale-Bopp ) 9.5 -> 10 mag No. 2 C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy ) 11 mag No. 3 55P/Tempel-Tuttle 12 -> 15 mag No. 4 103P/Hartley 2 12.5 -> 14 mag No. 5 69P/Taylor 13 -> 14 mag No. 6 62P/Tsuchinshan 1 13.5 -> 14 mag No. 7 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 13.5 mag No. 8 104P/Kowal 2 13.5 -> 15 mag No. 9 C/1997 G2 ( Montani ) 14 mag No. 10 C/1997 T1 ( Utsunomiya ) 14.5 -> 16.5 mag No. 11 68P/Klemola 14.5 mag No. 12 78P/Gehrels 2 14.5 -> 15.5 mag Other faint comets are as follows. 93P/Lovas 1 16.5 -> 15 mag 88P/Howell 16 -> 15 mag 43P/Wolf-Harrington 15.5 -> 17 mag 95P/Chiron 15.5 mag 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 18 -> 16.5 mag 128P/Shoemaker-Holt 1 16.5 -> 17 mag 102P/Shoemaker 1 17.5 -> 16.5 mag 129P/Shoemaker-Levy 3 17 -> 17.5 mag C/1997 BA6 ( Spacewatch ) 17 mag 59P/Kearns-Kwee 18 -> 17.5 mag 1997 CU26 18 mag 98P/Takamizawa 18.5 -> 18 mag (5145) Pholus 18 mag C/1998 G1 ( LINEAR ) 18 mag 91P/Russell 3 18 mag 80P/Peters-Hartley 19 -> 18.5 mag P/1988 V1 ( Ge-Wang ) 19.5 -> 19 mag C/1997 L1 ( Zhu-Balam ) 18.5 -> 19 mag 134P/Kowal-Vavrova 19 mag 4P/Faye 20 -> 19 mag (8405) 1995 GO 19 mag 10P/Tempel 2 19 mag P/1990 S1 ( Mueller 3 ) 20 -> 19 mag 119P/Parker-Hartley 19 -> 20 mag 37P/Forbes 19 mag P/1997 G1 ( Montani ) 19.5 -> 20 mag C/1997 O1 ( Tilbrook ) 19.5 -> 20.5 mag 83P/Russell 1 20 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] It's been long time since Comet Hale-Bopp has gone to the south, but southern people have been observing it. The comet is getting fainter along the magnitude equation m1 = -2.1 + 5 log d + 11.4 log r since October 1997, when we in the Northern Hemisphere had the last chance to observe this comet. It reached to 9.0 mag in late March. The comet is now in Pictor and moving towards Canopus. It locates in the southwest at dusk in the Southern Hemisphere. The brightness will be 10 mag soon. In the Southern Hemisphere, people can trace the comet for a long time in the future. Because it is so big, the comet keeps 12 mag even at the end of 1998 and can be observed visually. At the end of 1999, the comet will be over 10 AU from the sun and become father than Saturn. However it keeps 14 mag at that time. From late December to early January, the great anti-tail is observed. Images of the thick dust tail and the needle-like thin tail piercing the comet are available via WWW. Photographers succeeded to take some pictures of the comet with a great dust tail near the Large Magellanic Cloud. The pictures occupied some pages of magazines.

C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy ) [Finding Chart] Comet Meunier-Dupouy, discovered on May 7, 1997, as 14 mag, passed the perihelion on Mar. 10. Because it reaches only down to 3 AU from the sun, the light curve is very gentle. It has brightened steadily, 13 mag in spring and 12 mag in summer and autumn in 1997. After November, a small diffused image as 11 mag has been observed visually. It locates around the foot of Pegasus this month. The altitude at the beginning of the morning glow is getting higher, 35 deg in mid April and 55 deg in late May. Although it has been under horizon in the Southern Hemisphere, they will be able to observe it again in May. The brightness is 11 mag still now. However, observations reported after February say 11-12 mag, which are fainter than the ephemeris. So it may be getting fainter a bit. The comet will be around the same position until June, then it turns to move southwards rapidly among autumn constellations after July. It will be 10-11 mag and observable visually for a long time until autumn. The ephemeris shows it keeps observable as 16 mag even in 2000.

55P/Tempel-Tuttle [Finding Chart] This is a mother comet of Leonid meteor shower in November, the great appearance is expected in several years after this. The comet appeared after 33-year blank and reached to 7.5 mag in January when it closed to the earth. But now it is at conjunction and impossible to see. Appearing again at dawn in early November, the comet was observed as 18.4-19.5, about 2 mag fainter than expected. In December, about 17.6 mag on Dec. 4 and 16.6 mag on Dec. 11, which were about 3 mag fainter. So some worried that it reaches only to 11 mag or fainter at best in January. However, it began to brighten drastically at the end of 1997. It brightened as 14 -> 11 mag in late December, 10 -> 8 mag in early January, and reached to 7.5-8.0 mag in mid January at closest approach to the Earth. The image of this comet at that time was so impressive as 15-20 arcmin diameter and very diffused (DC=1-2), so large and diffused. The light curve of this period becomes: m1 = 7.5 + 5 log d + 35.0 log r The coefficient of log r is so large as 35, which shows the drastic brightening. After closest approach, the pace of brightening becomes duller. The comet faded out gradually while going away from the Earth. In addition, it was getting dense while the diameter got smaller. Finally, it turned to be a typical 9-mag small comet at the perihelion passage in late February. The light curve of this period becomes: m1 = 8.5 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r In March, the comet set in the west at dusk and became impossible to observe. In April, it is still too close to the sun. In the Southern Hemisphere, it appears again at dawn in mid May. But the comet will be so faint as 14 mag. On the other hand, the condition after perihelion passage is bad in the Northern Hemisphere and they can hardly observe. The comet appears again at dawn in July, however, it locates very low in the southeast, about 20 deg high over horizon. And it will be so faint, probably fainter than 16 mag, so the observation is very hard. After that, the comet moves southwards. So it fades out at the 10 deg high over horizon. In a word, Northern people can never see the comet again. It moves southwards in Cetus this month. It closes to a planetary nebula NGC 246 (8.0 mag, 3.7') in early June.

103P/Hartley 2 [Finding Chart] 103P/Hartley 2 has been brightening favorably in 1997 as 19 mag in May, 17-19 mag in June, 16.5-18.5 mag in July, 13-15.5 mag in August and 12-15 mag in September and October, 10 -> 9 mag in November, 9 -> 8 mag in December. After perihelion passage on Dec. 21, it brightened a little more. It reached to the peak as 8 mag with 5 arcmin diameter or larger, well observed visually. Then it turned to fade out gradually and has been observed visually for a long time, as 9 mag in mid February, 10 mag in late February and early March. However, it began to get fainter and diffused rapidly after mid March. It was 12 mag visually and 15 mag with CCD now. The light curve before perihelion is: m1 = 9.0 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r On the other hand, the curve after perihelion is: m1 = 8.6 + 5 log d + 9.7 log r The coefficient of log r becomes smaller. It means fading out is much gentle than brightening. It fades out as 12.5 -> 14 mag this month. Visual observations is almost impossible now. The magnitude estimation may become much fainter than ephemeris says with CCD. Anyway, it is now hard to observe this comet. The comet moves from Monoceros across through Canis Minor into between Cancer and Hydra's head. It still locates in the southwest at dusk, but the altitude becomes lower rapidly. It will be less than 20 deg in late May and the observation of this comet becomes impossible. In the Southern Hemisphere, people can trace it for some more time, until early July. It closes down to less than 30 arcmin to the Cone Nebula (NGC 2264) on Apr. 17.

69P/Taylor [Finding Chart] 69P/Taylor has bursted out drastically and reached to 11 mag, 6 mag brighter than expected at first. Because it was finally observed in October as faint as 18.9 mag, It seemed to reach only to 17 mag at best in December. However, it brightened rapidly as 18 mag in November, 16 mag in early December. The pace did not fall down even after it passed the perihelion on Dec. 12. It brightened more, 15 mag in late December, 13.5-14 mag in early January, 12 mag from mid January to early February, then reached to the peak as 11 mag in late February and early March. Then it turned to fade out and reached to 12 mag in late March. The comet is getting fainter now, so it will be 13-14 mag this month. But the comet is now in the abnormal situation, so the behavior after this is uncertain. Some reported that the comet began to be diffused in March, so it may get fainter drastically. It moves from Lynx to north of Leo's head this month. It locates high in the evening sky. On the other hand, it is very low in the north in the Southern Hemisphere. The outburst of this comet began 40 days before the perihelion passage date and reached to the peak 75 days after the perihelion date. It is uncertain if this is an unexpected outburst or the comet inclines to brighten drastically after perihelion passage. The comet has a history that the nucleus was split into two pieces at the discovery in 1915. So the current outburst may be also caused by nucleus split. If so, CCD observers may catch the proof after this.

62P/Tsuchinshan 1 [Finding Chart] 62P/Tsuchinshan 1, which passes the perihelion on Apr. 19, has brightened drastically. It reached to 13 mag and has been observed visually. In this return, it was observed on Oct. 12 by Scotti for the first time. It was 20 mag in October and November, which was 2 mag or more fainter than expected. So it seemed to reach only to 18.5 mag at best in March and April. However, it brightened rapidly as 18.5 -> 17.5 mag in January, 16.5 -> 15.5 mag in February, 15.5 -> 14.5 mag in March. The light curve of this period is: m1 = 9.0 + 5 log d + 30.0 log r After mid March it began to be observed also visually and estimated so bright as 13 mag. This is 2 mag or more brighter than expected by the equation above. Therefore, I describe this document using the equation below: m1 = 6.8 + 5 log d + 30.0 log r It shows that the comet is now at peak and observable as 13 mag still in this month. It moves from Taurus across through Gemini into Cancer. It locates in the west at dusk. But the altitude at the end of the evening glow becomes low, 35-> 22 deg. In the Southern Hemisphere, it locates in the northwestern low sky at dusk, about 15 deg high over horizon. It passes less than 1 deg south of Pollux on May 25.

29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 [Finding Chart] 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, famous for the repeated outbursts, has bursted out in late January and reached to 12 mag. The outburst finished until mid February. But visual observers kept reporting it as 13-14 mag after that. By CCD, Takuo Kojima reported that it was in another outburst on mid March and looked stellar. The comet is on the Hydra's tail, north of gamma-Hya still now. It transits meridian before midnight. In the Northern Hemisphere, it locates low, about 35 deg high. On the other hand, it locates overhead in the Southern Hemisphere. The comet has kept 13-14 mag all though this season, even when it was calm. It probably bursts out frequently. When people go take photos or CCD images of comets, they should enter this comet in their schedule always.

104P/Kowal 2 [Finding Chart] 104P/Kowal 2, which passed the perihelion on Mar. 2, has been well brightening in 1997 as 19 mag in May, 18 mag in June, 17.5 mag in July, 16.5 -> 15.5 mag in August, 15 mag in September and October, 14.5 -> 13.5 mag in November. It reached to the peak from December to March and has been observed as 13 mag in the evening for a while. The magnitude equation of this period is: m1 = 10.3 + 5 log d + 12.5 log r Because the pace of brightening was duller than expected, the coefficient of log r becomes smaller. Finally, it was 13 mag at best in this return. It moves Orion -> Gemini -> Canis Minor this month. It still locates in the west at dusk, but the altitude is already very low. In May it becomes impossible to observe. The brightness fades out as 13 -> 15 mag. So the observation season of this return finishes now.

C/1997 G2 ( Montani ) [Finding Chart] This is a new comet discovered on Apr. 12, 1997, as 18 mag. After being observed until July when it reached to 17 mag, it became at conjunction with the sun and we could not observe it for a while. After 1998 began, the comet was getting far away from the sun apparently. But no observations were reported probably because the comet is in the southern sky. Finally on Mar. 31, it was observed as 14.1 mag, brighter than expected. The light curve of total observations becomes: m1 = 2.0 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r The coefficient of log r is so large as 20, which implies the comet brightened drastically. The comet passes the perihelion on Apr. 16 and it is at peak now. It moves eastwards in Hydrus this month. It is about 14 mag and locates in the southeast at dawn in the Southern Hemisphere. To be sorry, Northern people cannot observe it. In the Northern Hemisphere, it appears at dusk in late January and early February in 1999. However, the comet will be 17 mag and the altitude is less than 10 deg. So the observation will be impossible actually. After that, it appears at dawn after August 1999, but the comet will be fainter than 20 mag. In a word, Northern people can never observe this comet again. It grazes the Small Magellanic Cloud in early May.

C/1997 T1 ( Utsunomiya ) [Finding Chart] This is a new comet discovered by Syogo Utsunomiya in Kumamoto, Japan, as 10.5 mag on Oct. 3. Because the condition was good in October and November, many observations were reported. The comet was brightest at that time, about 10 mag. It was close to the sun apparently after December, so the observation was difficult. But it was observed brighter than expected, 10 mag in December and January, 10 -> 11 mag in February. However, in March when it becomes high and easy to observe at dawn, it faded out suddenly. In early March, it was reported as 11.5-13.5 mag, but in late March and early April, it was 14-15 mag. The light curve of the total period becomes: m1 = 5.8 + 5 log d + 22.0 log r The comet moves westwards rapidly this month, from Ophiuchus across through Libra to Hydra's tail. Although it is in the morning sky in April, it becomes at opposition in early May and turns to be in the evening sky in late May. The comet will fade out rapidly in this period. It keeps 14.5 mag in mid April but reaches to 16.5 mag in late May. When it becomes too low in early July, it fades out as 18-19 mag.

68P/Klemola [Finding Chart] 68P/Klemola, which passes the perihelion on May 1, has been too close to the sun to observe for a while. Now it appears again at dawn. In this return, it has been already observed so faint as 19-21 mag from March to July in 1997. Then it becomes at conjunction with the sun. The ephemeris said that it should brighten rapidly while being conjunction, and appear again at dawn as 14 mag. In early April, this comet was observed even at extremely low altitude and confirmed that it brightened favorably and reached to 14 mag as expected. It moves eastwards from Aquarius to Pisces. It is near by Venus. Now that the comet begins to appear at dawn, it is still too low to observe in April and May. After June, the altitude at the beginning of the morning glow becomes over 20 deg. On the other hand, it is already over 20 deg now in the Southern Hemisphere and becomes over 30 deg in May. The comet is at the peak now. We can observe it as 14 mag until early summer. Then it fades out gradually.

78P/Gehrels 2 [Finding Chart] 78P/Gehrels 2 has already passed the perihelion on Aug. 7, 1997. But because it was getting close to the earth until December, it has been observed so bright as 11-12 mag until January. After February, it turned to go away from the earth, so the comet began to fade out. But it kept 13-14 mag in late March. However, the comet got diffused, and it was in the Milky Way, it became hard to observe. The comet has been in Gemini for a while, but it moves towards Cancer this month. It locates high in the southwest But the altitude gets lower after this and it becomes impossible to observe in late May. It also fades out as 14 -> 15 mag, so visual observation is already impossible.

Faint Comets

93P/Lovas 1 [Finding Chart] , which will pass the perihelion on Oct. 14, will appear at dawn. Although it has not been observed yet in this return, the ephemeris says the comet is already as bright as 16 mag. It is still too low to observe in the Northern Hemisphere now, but the altitude at dawn is over 30 deg in the Southern Hemisphere. Northern people can observe it after June. It moves eastwards south of Pisces this month. It is near by Jupiter and Venus in late April, then it keeps near by Venus until mid May. The condition of this return is good and the comet is expected to be bright as 11 mag in autumn and winter.

88P/Howell [Finding Chart] , which passes the perihelion on Sept. 27, was 20 mag in early January and 19 mag in late January, about 3 mag fainter than expected. Then it brightened as 18 mag in early March, 16 mag in early April, well along the magnitude equation: m1 = 11.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r It still locates in Virgo, north of Spica, and transits meridian before midnight. The brightness is 16 -> 15 mag in this month. The equation above says the comet will reach to 14 mag at best in summer and autumn. However, some say that this comet tends to become bright after perihelion passage. In this case, it may be 11-12 mag in autumn.

43P/Wolf-Harrington [Finding Chart] has been observed bright as 12-13 mag for a long time since the perihelion passage on Sept. 29, 1997. However, it will fade out rapidly from 15 mag to 17 mag this month. The comet was brighter a bit in March, about 13-14 mag, so it may be brighter actually than expected. But it is almost impossible to see it visually anyway. The comet is still around Hydra's body this month and locates in the southwest at dusk. It will be observed for some more time until June, when it reaches to 17 mag.

95P/(2060) Chiron [Finding Chart] , also registered as an asteroid (2060), is still north of alpha-Lib. It is at opposition and locates in the south at midnight. It will be about 15.5 mag. But the recent observations reported that the actual brightness is about 1-1.5 mag fainter than expected. It has passed the perihelion in 1996 February. But the perihelion distance is so large and the magnitude will never change so much for more several years. The altitude of the comet is now low in the Northern Hemisphere, less than 40 deg. This situation will continue for a while.

21P/Giacobini-Zinner [Finding Chart] , which passes the perihelion on Nov. 21, was observed as 22 mag on Jan. 20. It is getting brighter after that, 19 mag in early April. Although it is faint as 18 mag in April, it will be 16 mag in May and within range of amateurs' CCD. It will be brighter than 14 mag in August, then reaches to 10 mag in autumn and winter and observed visually in the evening. This comet is also a mother of Giacobinid meteor shower in October. Usually the shower does not appear at all, but a great appearance is expected in next October caused by the return of this comet. The previous chance was in 1985, when many observers did not believe it, but a sudden great appearance happened in Japan and surprised them so much. How about this time? The comet moves northwards from Ophiucus to Hercules. It transits meridian after midnight and locates overhead.

128P/Shoemaker-Holt 1 [Finding Chart] was cleared up that the nucleus was split into two pieces at the recovery in 1996. After it passed the perihelion in November 1997, we could observe it under the good condition. The comet was 14 mag visually and 15-16 mag with CCD. In March it faded out a bit and reported as 16-17 mag. It moves from Taurus through overhead of Orion and into Gemini this month. It will be 16-17 mag now. But the comet is getting very low in the west at dusk. It will be too low to observe in May.

102P/Shoemaker 1 [Finding Chart] , which will pass the perihelion in March 1999, has never observed yet in this return. But the ephemeris says the comet is already bright as 16-17 mag. Because the comet is in the southern sky, Northern people cannot observe it. But it locates high in the morning in the Southern Hemisphere. It moves southwards from Telescopium to Pavo this month. It closes to a globular cluster NGC 6752(5.4 mag, 20') in late May. The condition of this comet before perihelion passage is bad in the Northern Hemisphere. Only in November, it will appear in the very low evening sky. However, the comet is 15 mag and the altitude is less than 15 deg, so the observation will be extremely hard. After perihelion passage, it appears at dawn as 15 mag in July 1999. Then we can continue to observe it while it fades out gradually.

129P/Shoemaker-Levy 3 [Finding Chart] passed the perihelion on March 4. We could observe it under good condition in January and February. It was 14 mag visually and 15-16 mag with CCD. In March it faded out a bit, reported as 16-17 mag. It moves from Gemini to Cancer this month. It will be 17 mag now. The comet is high in the evening in April, but getting lower rapidly. Because the eccentricity is 0.25, almost a circle, it will keep 18.5 mag even at the opposition in 1999 spring. So the comet will be observed for a long time.

C/1997 BA6 ( Spacewatch ) [Finding Chart] , discovered as 19.4 mag on Jan. 31, 1997, is brightening favorably. It was observed as 17 mag in this year. It is still south of the head of Hydra this month, but getting very low in the southwest at dusk. Northern observers can trace this comet until mid May, then it goes to the southern sky. It will pass the perihelion in November 1999 and is expected to be bright as 13 mag. However it locates near the South Pole around the perihelion passage and cannot be observed in the Northern Hemisphere. We in the Northern Hemisphere cannot observe it until 2000 autumn.

59P/Kearns-Kwee [Finding Chart] , which will pass the perihelion on Sept. 16, 1999, will appear at dawn again. Although it has not been observed in this return yet, the ephemeris says it is already bright as 17-18 mag. However, it was not observed last summer when the comet was at opposition as 19 mag. It implies that the comet is much fainter than expected now. It moves from Aquarius to western Pisces. In April it is still very low, but it is getting higher and will be observable after mid May. On the other hand, it locates already very high at dawn in the Southern Hemisphere. The condition of this comet will be good in autumn and winter in 1999. It is expected to be bright as 12 mag and observed visually at that time.

A new asteroid 1997 CU26 [Finding Chart] , discovered as 18 mag on Feb. 15, 1997, is moving on an orbit with 13 AU 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 as about 18 mag for more than 20 years. Maybe someone detect the coma of this object and it turns to be a comet. It was observed 17 mag in January and February, 18 mag in March. It is still in Cancer, north of a globular cluster M67. It is getting lower in the southwest at dusk, and will be too low in June.

98P/Takamizawa [Finding Chart] , which will pass the perihelion on Nov. 7, has not observed in this return yet. The ephemeris says it is already bright as 18-19 mag. However, the positional condition has been good these days, but not observed. It implies that the comet is much fainter than expected now. It is in Leo and locates overhead in the evening. The condition of this return is bad. We can observe it only until summer, when it reaches to 17 mag.

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 8.7 AU perihelion distance and 90 year period. Because that is very similar to that of 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. This object is very famous for its extreme red color. Although 6 years have already passed since the perihelion date, the brightness will not change so much and it will be observable for more several years after this because of the large distance from the sun. It locates still in southwest of Arcturus, reaches overhead at midnight as 18 mag.

C/1998 G1 ( LINEAR ) [Finding Chart] is a new comet discovered on Apr. 2 as 18.9 mag under the NEO survey at the Lincoln Laboratory. The name of this comet stands for the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research. It was reported as one of the fast moving asteroids at first. But the motion was comet-like, moving on a retrograde parabolic orbit. Then the tail of this object was detected and it turned to be a comet. However, the coma was not detected. The situation is very similar to that of 133P/Elst-Pizaarro, registered as both a comet and an asteroid. Comet LINEAR passes the perihelion on Oct. 15, but reaches to 17-18 mag at best. It moves southwestwards in Leo's head. It locates in the southwest at dusk as 18 mag.

91P/Russell 3 [Finding Chart] , which passed the perihelion on Nov. 19, 1997, appears again at dawn. Before perihelion passage, it was observed as 21 mag in November 1996 for the first time in this return. Then it brightened favorably and reached to 18 mag in 1997 spring. It is north of Capricornus and locates in the southeast at dawn this month. The brightness is still 18 mag. It will keep the same brightness until July, at opposition, then it fades out rapidly. The comet is near by 4P/Faye in April.

80P/Peters-Hartley [Finding Chart] , which passes the perihelion on Aug. 11, was observed as 20.4 mag in mid February for the first time in this return. This is about 2 mag fainter than expected, so the comet brightens only down to 18 mag at best at the peak in summer. It moves Pyxis to south of Hydra's body this month. Although it is very low in the southwest at dusk in the Northern Hemisphere, it locates overhead in the Southern Hemisphere. The condition is bad in the Northern Hemisphere. The altitude is highest in April but only 20 deg or more. It becomes lower in May, only 15 deg or more. Then the comet keeps just over horizon.

P/1988 V1 ( Ge-Wang ) [Finding Chart] is in its first return. Now is the good chance to recover it. It locates in Serpens (tail) and transits meridian after midnight. The ephemeris says it is already 19 mag. However, the comet is in the Milky Way, so the recovery may be troublesome. The comet will pass the perihelion in June 1999. It will be at opposition in summer and autumn in 1999 and reach to 15 mag.

C/1997 L1 ( Zhu-Balam ) [Finding Chart] , discovered on June 3, 1997, has already passed the perihelion in 1996 November. But because the perihelion distance is so large as 4.9 AU, it is fading very slowly. It still keeps about 18-19 mag now, though the distance from the sun is over 6 AU. However, the comet is extremely diffused now, so the observation is very hard. It moves northwards in Hercules and locates overhead after midnight.

134P/Kowal-Vavrova [Finding Chart] , in its first return, was recovered on Dec. 5 at Kitt Peak. But it was 20.8-21.8 at that time, about 2-3 mag fainter than expected. Then the comet brightened gradually and reported as 19 mag in February. Anyway, it reaches only down to 18-19 mag at the peak in 1999 spring. It still in Leo, south of Regulus, and locates in the southwest at dusk. It passes the perihelion in November 1998, but it is at conjunction with the sun and not observable at that time.

4P/Faye [Finding Chart] , which will pass the perihelion in May 1999, appears at dawn. Although it has not been observed yet in this return, it is expected to be brighter than 20 mag now. So it will be observed soon. It is in Capricornus now and near by 91P/Russell 3 in April. This comet has appeared 19 times since discovery in 1843. This time is the 20th appearance, however, the condition is bad. It is too close to see to the sun apparently around the perihelion passage. When it is far away from the sun enough to observe, the comet is so faint as 16 mag. Therefore, visual observation of this comet in this return will be impossible.

A Centaur type asteroid discovered in 1995, 1995 GO [Finding Chart] , was registered as an asteroid (8405). It is now 10 AU from the Sun, as far away from the sun as Saturn, so faint as 19 mag. This object will pass the perihelion in 2002. Then it is about 7 AU from the sun and reaches to 17 mag. It still locates on Hydra's tail. It becomes at opposition and transits meridian at midnight. But the altitude is low, less than 35 deg, in the Northern Hemisphere. The situation continues for a while after this.

10P/Tempel 2 [Finding Chart] is observable all around the orbit. In 1997, when it was almost at aphelion, it was observed as 20 mag. Then it brightened a bit as 19 mag in this year. The next perihelion passage is 1999 September and the comet brightens slowly after this. But it is now only 19 mag. It locates in Leo and high in the evening. This comet tends to get brighter after perihelion passage. It is expected to be 8-9 mag in 1999 autumn. But to be sorry, it will be low in the south at that time.

P/1990 S1 ( Mueller 3 ) [Finding Chart] , in its first return, is getting brighter than 20 mag. Now the chance to recover it comes. The comet locates between Capricornus and Aquarius and appears in the southeast at dawn. Because the altitude is low still now and the comet is very faint this month, recovering it is very hard. But it brightens gradually after this, so it will be recovered soon. The comet passes the perihelion in 1999 March, but the condition is bad. It is too close to the sun around the perihelion passage. The best chance to observed this comet is 1998 summer and 1999 autumn, at opposition, however the comet reaches only down to 18 mag.

119P/Parker-Hartley [Finding Chart] has passed the perihelion in 1996 June. Because the orbit is almost circular and the perihelion distance is far as 3.0 AU, the comet is observable still now. It was about 19 mag in February and March. Now it is after opposition, it fades out a bit but keeps 19 mag. It locates north of Sextans in the evening sky. It is near by P/1997 G1 ( Montani ).

37P/Forbes [Finding Chart] , which will pass the perihelion in 1999 May, has not been observed yet in this return. The ephemeris says it is already 19 mag. However, it has not observed yet though the condition has been good for a while. It implies the comet is much fainter than expected. It is in Leo, west of Regulus, and locates in the southwest at dusk. The comet has appeared 8 times since 1929. It will brighten as 13 mag at best at the perihelion passage and will be observed visually.

A new periodic comet P/1997 G1 ( Montani ) [Finding Chart] discovered on Apr. 9, 1997, as 19 mag, has been observed as 19 mag since it appeared again at dawn in last December. Now that it is after opposition, it fades out a bit but keeps 19 mag also in this month. It is north of Sextans and locates in the south at dusk. It is near by 119P/Parker-Hartley. Though it has already passed the perihelion in last April, it will not fade out rapidly because of the large perihelion distance as 4 AU.

C/1997 O1 ( Tilbrook ) [Finding Chart] was observed as 15 mag on Dec. 4, 17-18 mag from January to March. They are a bit brighter than expected. So it may be a bit brighter than ephemeris says still now. However, the comet has been quite diffused, so the observation will be very hard. It is between Ursa Minor and Ursa Major and locates in the evening northern sky.

83P/Russell 1 [Finding Chart] , in its third return, is at peak now. This comet was discovered in 1979, then recovered in 1985. But it has been missed in 1991. The condition of this return is bad, it is too close to the sun around the perihelion passage in August. After that, when it comes far away from the sun apparently, the comet will be fainter than 21 mag. So now it is the final chance to observe this comet, when it locates in the southwest at dusk. But it is extremely faint, fainter than 20 mag. Therefore, this comet will be probably missed also in this return.

Ephemeris Table

Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. +35 deg in the Northern Hemisphere.

C/1995 O1 ( Hale-Bopp ) m1 = -2.1 + 5 log d + 11.4 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 5 11.92 -51 32.7 5.006 5.137 76 9.4 20:02 ( 37,-15) 1998- 4-27 5 19.61 -50 45.1 5.103 5.257 75 9.6 20:13 ( 41,-20) 1998- 5- 7 5 28.08 -50 10.2 5.200 5.371 74 9.7 20:25 ( 45,-26) 1998- 5-17 5 37.15 -49 47.9 5.295 5.481 74 9.8 20:36 ( 49,-32) 1998- 5-27 5 46.66 -49 38.5 5.390 5.585 73 10.0 20:47 ( 51,-38) 1998- 6- 6 5 56.46 -49 41.9 5.485 5.685 73 10.1 20:56 ( 52,-44)

C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy ) m1 = 3.7 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 22 8.17 31 13.2 3.073 3.570 53 11.3 3:57 (253, 34) 1998- 4-27 22 16.13 31 1.4 3.087 3.507 57 11.3 3:42 (255, 37) 1998- 5- 7 22 22.54 30 48.9 3.103 3.427 63 11.3 3:28 (257, 41) 1998- 5-17 22 27.26 30 32.8 3.122 3.333 69 11.3 3:16 (260, 45) 1998- 5-27 22 30.14 30 10.2 3.145 3.227 76 11.2 3:07 (264, 51) 1998- 6- 6 22 31.00 29 37.2 3.170 3.111 84 11.2 3:01 (268, 57)

55P/Tempel-Tuttle m1 = 8.5 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 1 10.59 -0 32.5 1.245 2.203 13 12.1 3:57 (256,-19) 1998- 4-27 1 10.09 -2 9.3 1.345 2.214 22 12.8 3:42 (262,-15) 1998- 5- 7 1 9.08 -3 54.2 1.451 2.184 33 13.4 3:28 (267,-11) 1998- 5-17 1 7.12 -5 54.6 1.562 2.120 44 14.0 3:16 (273, -6) 1998- 5-27 1 3.64 -8 18.7 1.674 2.027 55 14.5 3:07 (280, -1) 1998- 6- 6 0 57.83 -11 16.2 1.788 1.915 67 15.0 3:01 (288, 5)

103P/Hartley 2 m1 = 8.6 + 5 log d + 9.7 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 6 40.58 9 28.6 1.813 1.812 73 12.4 20:02 ( 70, 41) 1998- 4-27 7 5.45 9 33.7 1.903 1.985 70 12.8 20:13 ( 75, 36) 1998- 5- 7 7 28.75 9 25.0 1.993 2.163 66 13.2 20:25 ( 79, 31) 1998- 5-17 7 50.68 9 4.3 2.082 2.344 62 13.5 20:36 ( 84, 25) 1998- 5-27 8 11.42 8 33.2 2.170 2.525 58 13.9 20:47 ( 88, 18) 1998- 6- 6 8 31.12 7 53.1 2.257 2.704 53 14.2 20:56 ( 91, 12)

69P/Taylor m1 = 6.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 8 51.58 36 5.0 2.204 1.827 98 13.0 20:02 ( 99, 79) 1998- 4-27 9 6.61 35 3.6 2.242 1.969 91 13.2 20:13 ( 96, 72) 1998- 5- 7 9 22.56 33 50.0 2.281 2.113 86 13.5 20:25 ( 96, 65) 1998- 5-17 9 39.07 32 26.2 2.322 2.259 80 13.8 20:36 ( 97, 57) 1998- 5-27 9 55.89 30 53.9 2.364 2.405 75 14.0 20:47 ( 98, 50) 1998- 6- 6 10 12.84 29 14.6 2.407 2.551 70 14.3 20:56 ( 99, 43)

62P/Tsuchinshan 1 m1 = 6.8 + 5 log d + 30.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 5 31.50 26 28.1 1.496 1.786 56 13.3 20:02 ( 99, 36) 1998- 4-27 6 5.35 27 27.4 1.498 1.834 54 13.4 20:13 (102, 33) 1998- 5- 7 6 40.11 27 54.0 1.508 1.887 52 13.5 20:25 (105, 30) 1998- 5-17 7 15.14 27 47.0 1.525 1.945 50 13.7 20:36 (106, 27) 1998- 5-27 7 49.83 27 7.1 1.549 2.010 49 14.0 20:47 (107, 24) 1998- 6- 6 8 23.65 25 57.2 1.580 2.082 47 14.3 20:56 (108, 20)

29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 m1 = 4.0 + 5 log d + 7.5 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 13 21.16 -20 7.1 6.246 5.257 169 13.6 23:38 ( 0, 35) 1998- 4-27 13 16.74 -19 41.7 6.244 5.269 164 13.6 22:54 ( 0, 35) 1998- 5- 7 13 12.73 -19 14.5 6.243 5.310 155 13.6 22:11 ( 0, 36) 1998- 5-17 13 9.36 -18 47.4 6.241 5.379 145 13.6 21:29 ( 0, 36) 1998- 5-27 13 6.80 -18 22.1 6.239 5.472 135 13.7 20:47 ( 0, 37) 1998- 6- 6 13 5.21 -18 0.1 6.238 5.585 126 13.7 20:56 ( 15, 36)

104P/Kowal 2 m1 = 10.3 + 5 log d + 12.5 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 5 9.96 14 21.9 1.485 1.886 51 13.8 20:02 ( 90, 26) 1998- 4-27 5 42.95 14 3.0 1.525 1.965 49 14.1 20:13 ( 92, 22) 1998- 5- 7 6 14.99 13 27.2 1.571 2.052 48 14.3 20:25 ( 94, 18) 1998- 5-17 6 45.87 12 35.6 1.622 2.145 46 14.6 20:36 ( 96, 13) 1998- 5-27 7 15.48 11 30.3 1.677 2.245 44 14.9 20:47 ( 98, 9) 1998- 6- 6 7 43.76 10 13.0 1.735 2.350 42 15.1 20:56 (100, 4)

C/1997 G2 ( Montani ) m1 = 2.0 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 22 54.80 -73 47.2 3.085 2.952 88 14.1 3:57 (341,-31) 1998- 4-27 0 2.37 -74 13.8 3.087 2.910 90 14.1 3:42 (341,-34) 1998- 5- 7 1 7.40 -73 51.9 3.091 2.883 92 14.1 3:28 (340,-36) 1998- 5-17 2 4.73 -72 53.2 3.099 2.872 93 14.1 3:16 (339,-38) 1998- 5-27 2 52.61 -71 34.2 3.110 2.873 93 14.1 3:07 (338,-40) 1998- 6- 6 3 31.70 -70 10.1 3.124 2.885 93 14.2 3:01 (336,-41)

C/1997 T1 ( Utsunomiya ) m1 = 5.8 + 5 log d + 22.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 17 10.95 -15 26.5 2.242 1.477 128 14.4 3:32 ( 0, 40) 1998- 4-27 16 31.65 -17 45.5 2.344 1.433 147 14.7 2:14 ( 0, 37) 1998- 5- 7 15 48.35 -19 32.7 2.448 1.454 167 15.2 0:52 ( 0, 36) 1998- 5-17 15 6.56 -20 33.8 2.551 1.544 173 15.7 23:23 ( 0, 34) 1998- 5-27 14 30.96 -20 55.2 2.656 1.698 155 16.3 22:09 ( 0, 34) 1998- 6- 6 14 3.48 -20 55.0 2.760 1.903 140 16.9 21:03 ( 0, 34)

68P/Klemola m1 = 9.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 22 58.02 -1 43.7 1.761 2.375 41 14.6 3:57 (277, 7) 1998- 4-27 23 23.98 0 22.8 1.755 2.319 44 14.5 3:42 (275, 8) 1998- 5- 7 23 49.59 2 26.6 1.755 2.266 47 14.4 3:28 (273, 9) 1998- 5-17 0 14.77 4 25.0 1.762 2.216 50 14.4 3:16 (272, 11) 1998- 5-27 0 39.44 6 15.1 1.774 2.168 54 14.4 3:07 (271, 13) 1998- 6- 6 1 3.46 7 54.5 1.792 2.120 57 14.4 3:01 (271, 16)

78P/Gehrels 2 m1 = 8.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 7 7.05 16 17.6 2.784 2.788 79 14.7 20:02 ( 72, 50) 1998- 4-27 7 19.81 16 12.1 2.830 2.960 72 14.9 20:13 ( 79, 43) 1998- 5- 7 7 33.17 15 59.4 2.877 3.130 66 15.1 20:25 ( 85, 35) 1998- 5-17 7 46.94 15 39.7 2.924 3.295 60 15.2 20:36 ( 90, 27) 1998- 5-27 8 0.97 15 13.1 2.970 3.453 53 15.4 20:47 ( 95, 20) 1998- 6- 6 8 15.16 14 40.0 3.017 3.604 47 15.6 20:56 ( 99, 13)

93P/Lovas 1 m1 = 8.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 23 25.15 -4 29.8 2.432 3.163 36 16.3 3:57 (275, 0) 1998- 4-27 23 42.31 -2 9.6 2.369 3.028 41 16.0 3:42 (275, 3) 1998- 5- 7 23 59.75 0 16.3 2.308 2.888 46 15.8 3:28 (274, 6) 1998- 5-17 0 17.52 2 47.6 2.247 2.745 50 15.5 3:16 (273, 9) 1998- 5-27 0 35.69 5 24.3 2.187 2.600 55 15.2 3:07 (273, 13) 1998- 6- 6 0 54.31 8 5.9 2.129 2.456 59 14.9 3:01 (272, 18)

88P/Howell m1 = 11.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 13 31.57 -4 44.2 2.140 1.139 174 16.2 23:48 ( 0, 50) 1998- 4-27 13 20.66 -4 2.0 2.076 1.092 163 15.9 22:58 ( 0, 51) 1998- 5- 7 13 10.37 -3 30.7 2.012 1.069 151 15.7 22:09 ( 0, 52) 1998- 5-17 13 2.14 -3 17.4 1.949 1.065 139 15.5 21:21 ( 0, 52) 1998- 5-27 12 57.04 -3 26.6 1.886 1.078 128 15.3 20:47 ( 4, 51) 1998- 6- 6 12 55.71 -4 0.2 1.825 1.101 119 15.1 20:56 ( 23, 49)

43P/Wolf-Harrington m1 = 8.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 9 33.06 -12 39.7 2.426 1.767 119 15.5 20:02 ( 4, 42) 1998- 4-27 9 40.00 -11 29.2 2.486 1.919 112 15.8 20:13 ( 18, 42) 1998- 5- 7 9 48.64 -10 35.9 2.546 2.080 105 16.2 20:25 ( 31, 39) 1998- 5-17 9 58.59 -9 59.6 2.605 2.249 98 16.5 20:36 ( 42, 34) 1998- 5-27 10 9.55 -9 39.1 2.665 2.424 92 16.8 20:47 ( 52, 29) 1998- 6- 6 10 21.29 -9 33.0 2.724 2.601 85 17.1 20:56 ( 59, 23)

95P/Chiron m1 = 4.0 + 5 log d + 7.5 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 15 0.78 -14 56.2 8.925 7.977 159 15.6 1:22 ( 0, 40) 1998- 4-27 14 58.02 -14 40.2 8.936 7.943 170 15.6 0:40 ( 0, 40) 1998- 5- 7 14 55.10 -14 23.9 8.947 7.939 177 15.6 23:53 ( 0, 41) 1998- 5-17 14 52.20 -14 8.0 8.959 7.965 168 15.6 23:11 ( 0, 41) 1998- 5-27 14 49.47 -13 53.3 8.971 8.021 158 15.7 22:29 ( 0, 41) 1998- 6- 6 14 47.09 -13 40.4 8.982 8.103 148 15.7 21:47 ( 0, 41)

21P/Giacobini-Zinner m1 = 10.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 17 39.84 9 39.2 2.703 2.095 116 18.1 3:57 (358, 65) 1998- 4-27 17 40.58 12 32.5 2.622 1.933 123 17.7 3:22 ( 0, 67) 1998- 5- 7 17 38.69 15 36.2 2.541 1.788 128 17.3 2:41 ( 0, 71) 1998- 5-17 17 33.97 18 43.0 2.457 1.663 132 17.0 1:57 ( 0, 74) 1998- 5-27 17 26.33 21 42.6 2.373 1.558 133 16.6 1:10 ( 0, 77) 1998- 6- 6 17 16.06 24 22.1 2.287 1.473 132 16.2 0:21 ( 0, 79)

128P/Shoemaker-Holt 1 m1 = -1.2 + 5 log d + 30.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 5 19.71 19 48.4 3.155 3.642 53 16.6 20:02 ( 94, 31) 1998- 4-27 5 33.89 20 1.9 3.169 3.763 47 16.7 20:13 ( 99, 23) 1998- 5- 7 5 48.57 20 10.1 3.184 3.874 41 16.8 20:25 (104, 16) 1998- 5-17 6 3.61 20 12.6 3.201 3.975 35 17.0 20:36 (108, 9) 1998- 5-27 6 18.91 20 9.0 3.217 4.065 29 17.1 20:47 (113, 2) 1998- 6- 6 6 34.35 19 59.2 3.235 4.143 23 17.2 20:56 (118, -4)

102P/Shoemaker 1 m1 = 8.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 18 54.57 -53 9.7 3.169 2.758 104 17.7 3:57 (348, 0) 1998- 4-27 19 1.31 -54 22.1 3.122 2.601 112 17.5 3:42 (351, 0) 1998- 5- 7 19 5.05 -55 37.8 3.075 2.454 119 17.3 3:28 (355, -1) 1998- 5-17 19 5.25 -56 54.0 3.028 2.320 126 17.0 3:16 (358, -2) 1998- 5-27 19 1.37 -58 5.8 2.981 2.201 132 16.8 2:45 ( 0, -3) 1998- 6- 6 18 53.15 -59 5.7 2.933 2.100 137 16.6 1:57 ( 0, -4)

129P/Shoemaker-Levy 3 m1 = 5.7 + 5 log d + 20.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 7 43.93 20 14.2 2.826 2.686 87 16.9 20:02 ( 69, 60) 1998- 4-27 7 54.55 19 37.3 2.830 2.821 80 17.0 20:13 ( 77, 52) 1998- 5- 7 8 6.35 18 54.9 2.836 2.953 73 17.1 20:25 ( 83, 43) 1998- 5-17 8 19.08 18 6.9 2.842 3.082 66 17.2 20:36 ( 88, 35) 1998- 5-27 8 32.54 17 13.1 2.849 3.206 60 17.3 20:47 ( 93, 27) 1998- 6- 6 8 46.56 16 13.2 2.857 3.323 54 17.4 20:56 ( 96, 20)

C/1997 BA6 ( Spacewatch ) m1 = 5.3 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 8 44.02 -5 40.6 6.160 5.793 106 17.0 20:02 ( 22, 47) 1998- 4-27 8 42.66 -5 39.2 6.095 5.880 97 17.0 20:13 ( 39, 42) 1998- 5- 7 8 42.44 -5 41.7 6.030 5.969 88 17.0 20:25 ( 52, 34) 1998- 5-17 8 43.26 -5 48.8 5.965 6.057 79 17.0 20:36 ( 62, 25) 1998- 5-27 8 45.06 -6 1.3 5.900 6.140 71 16.9 20:47 ( 70, 16) 1998- 6- 6 8 47.73 -6 19.8 5.835 6.213 63 16.9 20:56 ( 77, 7)

59P/Kearns-Kwee m1 = 5.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 22 42.58 -5 35.7 4.132 4.753 46 18.1 3:57 (282, 8) 1998- 4-27 22 51.05 -4 30.5 4.090 4.596 54 18.0 3:42 (284, 12) 1998- 5- 7 22 59.00 -3 26.4 4.046 4.426 61 17.8 3:28 (286, 16) 1998- 5-17 23 6.30 -2 24.1 4.003 4.248 69 17.7 3:16 (288, 20) 1998- 5-27 23 12.86 -1 24.4 3.959 4.063 76 17.5 3:07 (292, 25) 1998- 6- 6 23 18.53 -0 28.1 3.915 3.874 84 17.3 3:01 (296, 31)

1997 CU26 m1 = 6.5 + 5 log d + 5.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 8 48.15 11 2.8 13.636 13.350 104 17.8 20:02 ( 31, 63) 1998- 4-27 8 48.37 11 1.9 13.630 13.507 94 17.8 20:13 ( 52, 56) 1998- 5- 7 8 49.07 10 59.1 13.624 13.667 85 17.8 20:25 ( 66, 47) 1998- 5-17 8 50.21 10 54.3 13.618 13.825 76 17.9 20:36 ( 76, 37) 1998- 5-27 8 51.78 10 47.6 13.612 13.976 66 17.9 20:47 ( 84, 28) 1998- 6- 6 8 53.73 10 38.9 13.606 14.117 57 17.9 20:56 ( 91, 18)

98P/Takamizawa m1 = 11.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 11 32.13 16 14.0 2.502 1.657 138 18.6 21:49 ( 0, 71) 1998- 4-27 11 27.14 16 34.2 2.439 1.684 128 18.4 21:05 ( 0, 72) 1998- 5- 7 11 24.80 16 30.0 2.376 1.724 118 18.3 20:25 ( 1, 71) 1998- 5-17 11 25.33 16 3.1 2.314 1.774 109 18.2 20:36 ( 34, 68) 1998- 5-27 11 28.69 15 15.8 2.252 1.828 100 18.1 20:47 ( 54, 60) 1998- 6- 6 11 34.73 14 10.4 2.191 1.884 93 18.0 20:56 ( 65, 52)

(5145) Pholus m1 = 7.0 + 5 log d + 5.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 13 46.98 17 11.8 13.066 12.168 152 18.0 0:08 ( 0, 72) 1998- 4-27 13 44.75 17 21.4 13.093 12.229 147 18.0 23:23 ( 0, 72) 1998- 5- 7 13 42.61 17 26.6 13.119 12.315 141 18.0 22:41 ( 0, 72) 1998- 5-17 13 40.68 17 27.2 13.146 12.425 133 18.1 22:00 ( 0, 72) 1998- 5-27 13 39.03 17 23.4 13.173 12.555 125 18.1 21:19 ( 0, 72) 1998- 6- 6 13 37.74 17 15.2 13.199 12.702 117 18.1 20:56 ( 13, 72)

C/1998 G1 ( LINEAR ) m1 = 13.5 + 5 log d + 5.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 10 34.11 27 24.0 3.194 2.555 121 18.1 20:51 ( 0, 82) 1998- 4-27 10 15.87 25 25.5 3.134 2.652 109 18.1 20:13 ( 25, 79) 1998- 5- 7 10 1.77 23 15.0 3.076 2.770 97 18.2 20:25 ( 63, 68) 1998- 5-17 9 51.46 20 60.0 3.021 2.900 86 18.2 20:36 ( 76, 55) 1998- 5-27 9 44.43 18 44.6 2.967 3.034 76 18.3 20:47 ( 84, 42) 1998- 6- 6 9 40.08 16 30.8 2.916 3.164 66 18.3 20:56 ( 89, 31)

91P/Russell 3 m1 = 5.3 + 5 log d + 25.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 20 18.48 -11 19.8 2.677 2.614 82 18.1 3:57 (313, 30) 1998- 4-27 20 27.67 -9 48.4 2.699 2.509 89 18.1 3:42 (315, 33) 1998- 5- 7 20 34.97 -8 17.8 2.722 2.405 97 18.1 3:28 (319, 37) 1998- 5-17 20 40.23 -6 49.9 2.745 2.304 104 18.1 3:16 (324, 41) 1998- 5-27 20 43.31 -5 26.9 2.770 2.209 113 18.1 3:07 (331, 45) 1998- 6- 6 20 44.08 -4 11.3 2.795 2.124 121 18.1 3:01 (342, 49)

80P/Peters-Hartley m1 = 13.8 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 9 1.66 -30 58.5 2.006 1.390 112 19.1 20:02 ( 10, 23) 1998- 4-27 9 8.43 -29 3.1 1.951 1.393 107 18.9 20:13 ( 20, 23) 1998- 5- 7 9 19.29 -27 12.7 1.900 1.402 102 18.7 20:25 ( 30, 21) 1998- 5-17 9 33.86 -25 32.3 1.851 1.415 98 18.6 20:36 ( 38, 18) 1998- 5-27 9 51.77 -24 4.3 1.805 1.431 93 18.4 20:47 ( 45, 15) 1998- 6- 6 10 12.65 -22 50.1 1.764 1.452 89 18.3 20:56 ( 51, 12)

P/1988 V1 ( Ge-Wang ) m1 = 8.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 18 12.99 -9 32.2 3.914 3.414 112 19.6 3:57 (347, 45) 1998- 4-27 18 13.96 -8 54.8 3.869 3.243 121 19.4 3:42 (355, 46) 1998- 5- 7 18 13.23 -8 18.4 3.825 3.086 131 19.2 3:15 ( 0, 47) 1998- 5-17 18 10.82 -7 44.7 3.780 2.946 140 19.0 2:33 ( 0, 47) 1998- 5-27 18 6.80 -7 15.8 3.736 2.827 149 18.8 1:50 ( 0, 48) 1998- 6- 6 18 1.44 -6 53.4 3.691 2.733 157 18.7 1:06 ( 0, 48)

C/1997 L1 ( Zhu-Balam ) m1 = 7.0 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 17 20.41 20 58.1 6.243 5.717 117 18.7 3:41 ( 0, 76) 1998- 4-27 17 17.45 22 38.0 6.288 5.686 122 18.8 2:59 ( 0, 78) 1998- 5- 7 17 13.51 24 9.8 6.334 5.675 127 18.8 2:16 ( 0, 79) 1998- 5-17 17 8.78 25 30.9 6.380 5.686 129 18.8 1:32 ( 0, 80) 1998- 5-27 17 3.50 26 39.2 6.427 5.720 130 18.9 0:47 ( 0, 82) 1998- 6- 6 16 57.96 27 33.2 6.473 5.776 129 18.9 0:02 ( 0, 83)

134P/Kowal-Vavrova m1 = 9.5 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 9 55.73 9 0.1 3.098 2.458 121 18.8 20:14 ( 0, 64) 1998- 4-27 9 57.67 9 9.0 3.056 2.537 111 18.8 20:13 ( 20, 63) 1998- 5- 7 10 1.67 9 6.2 3.016 2.624 102 18.8 20:25 ( 42, 58) 1998- 5-17 10 7.59 8 51.8 2.977 2.716 94 18.8 20:36 ( 56, 51) 1998- 5-27 10 15.25 8 26.1 2.939 2.810 87 18.8 20:47 ( 66, 43) 1998- 6- 6 10 24.45 7 49.7 2.902 2.903 79 18.8 20:56 ( 73, 35)

4P/Faye m1 = 9.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 20 10.51 -10 41.3 3.559 3.513 84 20.0 3:57 (314, 32) 1998- 4-27 20 16.66 -9 55.3 3.505 3.316 92 19.8 3:42 (318, 35) 1998- 5- 7 20 21.48 -9 10.4 3.451 3.119 100 19.5 3:28 (323, 38) 1998- 5-17 20 24.80 -8 28.0 3.396 2.928 109 19.3 3:16 (329, 41) 1998- 5-27 20 26.43 -7 49.7 3.341 2.743 117 19.0 3:07 (338, 45) 1998- 6- 6 20 26.19 -7 17.4 3.285 2.571 127 18.8 3:01 (349, 47)

(8405) 1995 GO m1 = 9.0 + 5 log d + 5.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 13 54.15 -21 30.5 10.183 9.198 168 18.9 0:15 ( 0, 33) 1998- 4-27 13 51.07 -21 21.0 10.151 9.158 170 18.8 23:29 ( 0, 34) 1998- 5- 7 13 48.07 -21 9.8 10.119 9.147 163 18.8 22:46 ( 0, 34) 1998- 5-17 13 45.29 -20 57.7 10.087 9.166 154 18.8 22:04 ( 0, 34) 1998- 5-27 13 42.87 -20 45.7 10.056 9.212 144 18.8 21:23 ( 0, 34) 1998- 6- 6 13 40.92 -20 34.5 10.024 9.282 134 18.8 20:56 ( 4, 34)

10P/Tempel 2 m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 10 58.19 19 11.7 3.872 3.144 130 18.9 21:16 ( 0, 74) 1998- 4-27 10 54.52 19 16.5 3.836 3.229 120 18.9 20:33 ( 0, 74) 1998- 5- 7 10 52.61 19 8.3 3.798 3.326 110 18.9 20:25 ( 27, 73) 1998- 5-17 10 52.51 18 48.5 3.760 3.432 101 18.9 20:36 ( 54, 65) 1998- 5-27 10 54.12 18 18.4 3.721 3.542 92 19.0 20:47 ( 69, 56) 1998- 6- 6 10 57.33 17 39.6 3.681 3.651 83 19.0 20:56 ( 78, 47)

P/1990 S1 ( Mueller 3 ) m1 = 9.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 21 2.81 -13 37.5 3.467 3.631 72 19.9 3:57 (305, 21) 1998- 4-27 21 11.98 -13 4.9 3.444 3.471 80 19.8 3:42 (308, 24) 1998- 5- 7 21 20.08 -12 36.4 3.422 3.309 87 19.6 3:28 (311, 27) 1998- 5-17 21 26.99 -12 13.5 3.400 3.146 95 19.5 3:16 (315, 30) 1998- 5-27 21 32.54 -11 57.7 3.378 2.987 103 19.3 3:07 (321, 34) 1998- 6- 6 21 36.57 -11 50.8 3.356 2.833 112 19.1 3:01 (329, 38)

119P/Parker-Hartley m1 = 7.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 10 47.40 1 11.0 4.293 3.517 135 19.2 21:05 ( 0, 56) 1998- 4-27 10 45.87 1 35.2 4.317 3.654 125 19.3 20:24 ( 0, 57) 1998- 5- 7 10 45.81 1 51.0 4.341 3.806 115 19.5 20:25 ( 18, 56) 1998- 5-17 10 47.15 1 58.1 4.365 3.969 106 19.6 20:36 ( 37, 51) 1998- 5-27 10 49.80 1 56.6 4.388 4.140 97 19.7 20:47 ( 52, 44) 1998- 6- 6 10 53.63 1 46.8 4.412 4.313 88 19.8 20:56 ( 62, 36)

37P/Forbes m1 = 10.5 + 5 log d + 12.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 9 37.37 13 43.9 3.480 2.931 115 19.3 20:02 ( 5, 69) 1998- 4-27 9 36.82 13 36.7 3.428 3.020 105 19.3 20:13 ( 35, 65) 1998- 5- 7 9 38.26 13 20.2 3.376 3.115 96 19.3 20:25 ( 55, 57) 1998- 5-17 9 41.56 12 55.0 3.322 3.211 87 19.3 20:36 ( 67, 49) 1998- 5-27 9 46.54 12 21.3 3.268 3.304 79 19.3 20:47 ( 76, 40) 1998- 6- 6 9 53.02 11 39.7 3.213 3.392 71 19.2 20:56 ( 83, 31)

P/1997 G1 ( Montani ) m1 = 9.7 + 5 log d + 10.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 10 38.08 3 34.5 4.659 3.919 132 19.3 20:56 ( 0, 59) 1998- 4-27 10 37.48 3 46.4 4.681 4.058 122 19.4 20:16 ( 0, 59) 1998- 5- 7 10 38.17 3 50.9 4.703 4.212 113 19.5 20:25 ( 22, 57) 1998- 5-17 10 40.11 3 48.1 4.726 4.376 104 19.7 20:36 ( 41, 52) 1998- 5-27 10 43.21 3 37.9 4.749 4.546 95 19.8 20:47 ( 55, 44) 1998- 6- 6 10 47.37 3 20.7 4.772 4.719 86 19.9 20:56 ( 65, 36)

C/1997 O1 ( Tilbrook ) m1 = 7.4 + 5 log d + 16.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 13 47.27 77 45.4 3.751 3.581 91 19.4 0:11 (180, 47) 1998- 4-27 12 51.69 77 59.2 3.849 3.759 87 19.6 22:27 (180, 47) 1998- 5- 7 12 6.04 77 14.8 3.947 3.943 82 19.9 21:03 (180, 48) 1998- 5-17 11 34.77 75 56.3 4.044 4.128 78 20.2 20:36 (176, 49) 1998- 5-27 11 15.94 74 23.0 4.140 4.311 73 20.4 20:47 (169, 48) 1998- 6- 6 11 6.15 72 46.4 4.236 4.488 69 20.7 20:56 (163, 47)

83P/Russell 1 m1 = 13.0 + 5 log d + 15.0 log r Date R.A. Decl. r d Elong m1 Best time (A, h) 1998- 4-17 8 31.96 -2 30.0 2.396 1.956 103 20.1 20:02 ( 28, 49) 1998- 4-27 8 41.36 -1 36.6 2.367 2.034 96 20.2 20:13 ( 42, 45) 1998- 5- 7 8 52.87 -0 57.4 2.339 2.116 89 20.2 20:25 ( 53, 39) 1998- 5-17 9 6.18 -0 32.9 2.313 2.198 83 20.2 20:36 ( 62, 33) 1998- 5-27 9 21.01 -0 23.1 2.290 2.281 77 20.2 20:47 ( 69, 27) 1998- 6- 6 9 37.13 -0 27.9 2.268 2.363 72 20.2 20:56 ( 74, 21)