Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2008 Dec. 27: North)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on December 31, 2008
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Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. 35 deg in the Northern Hemisphere. Azimuth indicates 0 for south, 90 for west, 180 for north, 270 for east.

C/2007 N3 ( Lulin ) Appearing in the morning sky. Now it is 7.4 mag (Dec. 29, Marco Goiato). It is expected to reach to 4.5 mag in February. It keeps observable in the excellent condition long time around the highlight until spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 16 2.53 -19 47.9 1.937 1.234 32 7.1 5:36 (303, 10) Jan. 3 15 58.81 -19 38.1 1.776 1.218 40 6.8 5:38 (309, 16) 85P/Boethin It was expected to reach up to 7 mag and to be observable in good condition in winter. However, this comet has not been observed since 1986. It was not detected, fainter than 20 mag on Dec. 1 (Takaaki Oribe). It seems much fainter than expected. The condition of this apparition is good. It keeps observable for a long time until 2009 early summer both in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 23 23.57 1 34.6 0.874 1.157 76 7.2 18:26 ( 36, 51) Jan. 3 23 52.92 5 3.9 0.881 1.174 77 7.5 18:30 ( 40, 54) 210P/2008 X4 ( Christensen ) First return of a bright new periodic comet discovered by SOHO spacecraft in 2003. Now it was re-discovered by STEREO-B spacecraft. It must have been brightening very rapidly in the evening sky from September to early December. But it was not observed on the ground. Now it is too close to the sun, and not observable. But it was 6-7 mag on Dec. 24 in the SOHO images, brightening as expected (Michael Mattiazzo). It will appear in the morning sky at 8 mag in early January. Then it keeps observable in good condition while fading gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 17 43.11 -21 19.9 0.439 0.556 9 7.4 5:36 (290, -9) Jan. 3 16 59.72 -16 6.8 0.466 0.612 27 8.1 5:38 (296, 8) 144P/Kushida It has brightened much faster than expected. Now it is so bright as 8.8 mag (Dec. 29, Maik Meyer). Very large and visible through binoculars. It keeps bright as 9 mag locating high in the evening sky, observable in good condition until February. Then it keeps observable for a long time until early summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 3 24.25 16 5.7 0.599 1.481 137 9.5 20:59 ( 0, 71) Jan. 3 3 31.14 15 46.4 0.613 1.464 131 9.2 20:39 ( 0, 71) C/2008 A1 ( McNaught ) It reached to 6.3 mag in September in the southern sky (Sept. 4, Marco Goiato). Now it is still bright as 9.2 mag (Dec. 28, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will turn to appear in the morning sky in early January. Then it keeps observable in the northern sky while fading gradually. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 18 41.88 20 1.8 2.339 1.762 43 9.8 18:26 (108, 10) Jan. 3 18 55.49 23 4.2 2.386 1.842 45 10.0 5:38 (247, 8) C/2006 W3 ( Christensen ) Brightening very rapidly, faster than expected. It is already so bright as 10.0 mag (Dec. 30, Maik Meyer). It is expected to reach to 8 mag in 2009 summer. Because it moves in the northern sky, it keeps observable until it becomes brightest in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 21 57.48 47 3.6 3.574 3.627 85 10.1 18:26 (124, 56) Jan. 3 21 59.88 44 53.1 3.636 3.595 79 10.0 18:30 (120, 51) C/2006 OF2 ( Broughton ) Now it is bright as 9.8 mag (Dec. 28, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps observable in good conditioni as bright as 10 mag until January. Then, it keeps visible visually for a long time until May when it becomes low in the evening at 13 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 6 13.71 57 41.1 1.807 2.677 145 10.3 23:48 (180, 67) Jan. 3 6 7.16 56 12.5 1.841 2.709 145 10.3 23:14 (180, 69) C/2007 G1 ( LINEAR ) It brightened up to 11.5 mag in summer (Aug. 4, Marco Goiato). It keeps bright at 12 mag for a long time until 2009 spring. However, it is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere now. It will appear in the northern sky again in 2009 autumn, but it will be fainter than 15 mag and will keep locating very low after that. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time until it fades out. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 17 39.31 -66 12.7 3.309 2.682 43 12.4 5:36 (332,-30) Jan. 3 18 3.37 -68 18.0 3.281 2.695 46 12.4 5:38 (335,-30) C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring ) Already bright as 12.9 mag, and visible visually (Dec. 28, Marco Goiato). It is extremely low in the Northern Hemisphere now, but observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It is expected to brighten up to 10 mag from late 2009 to early 2010. Because the comet moves in the southern sky for a long time, it keeps impossible or very hard to observe in the Northern Hemisphere until 2009 September. But after 2009 October, it is observable at 10 mag for a while in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time while brightening until 2009 June when it brightens to 11 mag. But it becomes unobservable around and after the brightest time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 5 42.25 -53 46.9 3.476 3.810 102 12.8 23:16 ( 0, 1) Jan. 3 5 35.47 -53 6.9 3.422 3.754 102 12.7 22:41 ( 0, 2) C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught ) It reached to 10.9 mag in May (May 11, Marco Goiato). It is fading slowly. Now it is about 13 mag (Nov. 30, H. Sato). It keeps bright as 12-14 mag for a long time after this until 2009 summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 15 36.82 3 57.6 3.855 3.294 49 12.9 5:36 (289, 31) Jan. 3 15 45.93 4 58.2 3.816 3.332 53 12.9 5:38 (292, 35) C/2008 T2 ( Cardinal ) Now it is 14.4 mag, and visible visually (Nov. 30, Alan Hale). It locates near by Polaris until December, and observable all night. It will brighten gradually after this, and reach to 9-10 mag in 2009 June. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until May when it becomes brightest. But it will never be observable again after that. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable until 2009 April. But after that, it will be observable while fading gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 0 36.85 83 55.5 2.118 2.668 113 13.4 18:26 (180, 41) Jan. 3 0 54.63 81 46.5 2.048 2.590 112 13.2 18:30 (179, 43) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 An large outburst occured on Sept. 21, and it became so bright as 11.3 mag (Juan Antonio Henriquez Santana). The total brightness reached up to 10.3 mag in October (Oct. 11, Maik Meyer). The dust coma still keeps visible, and it is bright as 11.8 mag still now (Dec. 26, Marco Goiato). The dust coma got diffuse up to 6 arcmin. In addition, another outburst occured in mid December, and now the central part looks bright as 11.6 mag, well condensed (Dec. 28, Marco Goiato). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 8 11.50 23 14.9 5.184 6.091 155 13.5 1:49 ( 0, 78) Jan. 3 8 8.27 23 20.9 5.146 6.093 163 13.4 1:19 ( 0, 78) 116P/Wild 4 Now it is 15.3 mag (Nov. 30, Yuji Ohshima). It will brighten rapidly after this. It will be observable at 12-13 mag for a long time from January to July in 2009. But actually, it seems to be fainter than this ephemeris. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 10 3.35 17 1.4 1.854 2.582 128 13.8 3:41 ( 0, 72) Jan. 3 10 3.83 17 8.0 1.764 2.559 135 13.6 3:14 ( 0, 72) 6P/d'Arrest It reached up to 8.5 mag in September (Sept. 24, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Diffuse object expanding a large coma. It is still bright as about 12.2 mag (Dec. 21, Marco Goiato). However, it will fade out very rapidly after this. It will be fainter than 18 mag in February. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 0 55.35 -18 9.4 1.726 1.983 89 13.8 18:31 ( 0, 37) Jan. 3 1 6.76 -16 7.3 1.840 2.032 86 14.4 18:30 ( 5, 39) 19P/Borrelly It reached up to 9.6 mag in summer (Aug. 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 12.5 mag (Nov. 22, Seiichi Yoshida). It keeps observable and fading in the morning sky after this. It will be visible visually for some more time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 13 24.90 27 34.1 1.958 2.164 88 13.9 5:36 (286, 70) Jan. 3 13 33.50 28 17.3 1.938 2.215 92 14.0 5:38 (292, 75) 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Now it is about 13.8 mag (Dec. 20, Marco Goiato), already visible visually. It will be brightening gradually after this, and reach to 12-13 mag in 2009 winter and spring. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time until 2009 May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 22 36.00 -12 58.5 1.672 1.462 60 14.1 18:26 ( 40, 33) Jan. 3 22 52.86 -10 44.7 1.674 1.421 57 13.9 18:30 ( 45, 32) 22P/Kopff Now it is 14.8 mag, brightening as expected (Dec. 2, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be bright at 9-10 mag for a long time from spring to autumn in 2009. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 15 10.15 -13 50.7 2.677 2.126 46 14.3 5:36 (308, 23) Jan. 3 15 25.80 -14 47.3 2.580 2.086 49 14.1 5:38 (312, 25) C/2005 L3 ( McNaught ) It had been bright and visible visually around 13 mag from spring to autumn in 2008. It will be getting higher after this, and will be visible visually at 14 mag again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 15 17.34 20 35.8 6.505 6.125 63 14.8 5:36 (275, 44) Jan. 3 15 18.21 21 16.7 6.433 6.145 68 14.8 5:38 (279, 50) C/2007 B2 ( Skiff ) It brightened up to 12.7 mag in 2008 spring (Apr. 12, Marco Goiato). However, it has already faded down to 14.9 mag (July 22, Mitsunori Tsumura). It will never be observable again in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not observable now also in the Southern Hemisphere, but it will appear again in the morning sky at 15 mag in January. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 16 52.92 -40 52.6 4.089 3.233 25 14.9 5:36 (312,-12) Jan. 3 17 7.42 -41 40.7 4.082 3.260 29 14.9 5:38 (315,-10) 7P/Pons-Winnecke An outburst occured in late May and it brightened up to 14.6 mag (May 23, Gustavo Muler), but it faded down to the original brightness in late May. Then it had been reported so faint as 17 mag by CCD observations. However, it suddenly became so bright and visible visually after late August, and it reached up to 11.0 mag visually in September (Sept. 24, Juan Jose Gonzalez). However, it is fading now. It locates extremely low in the Northern Hemisphere. No observations have been reported since late October. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 21 7.28 -30 35.7 2.325 1.648 36 15.3 18:26 ( 46, 6) Jan. 3 21 30.31 -29 24.2 2.402 1.698 35 15.5 18:30 ( 48, 6) C/2006 U6 ( Spacewatch ) Now it is 15.8 mag (Dec. 5, Ken-ichi Kadota). It should have reached up to 13.5 mag in summer in the southern sky, but it is already fading. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this. It is finally appearing in the morning sky also in the Northern Hemisphere soon. It keeps observable while the comet will be fading slowly after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 12 20.37 -28 19.5 3.333 3.305 79 15.3 5:36 (355, 26) Jan. 3 12 21.40 -27 49.6 3.267 3.352 86 15.3 5:31 ( 0, 27) 68P/Klemola Now it is 14.5 mag (Dec. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be unobservable soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 20 12.58 -15 0.7 2.598 1.778 26 15.4 18:26 ( 66, 8) Jan. 3 20 32.43 -14 19.2 2.615 1.769 24 15.4 18:30 ( 68, 6) 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh Now it is 16.4 mag (Dec. 19, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be observable at 15-16 mag in good condition until spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 9 47.44 20 29.4 2.893 3.635 132 15.5 3:25 ( 0, 75) Jan. 3 9 45.94 20 53.6 2.818 3.630 140 15.4 2:56 ( 0, 76) 205P/2008 R6 ( Giacobini ) It had been lost for 112 years sincd 1896, but re-discovered by Koichi Itagaki and Hiroshi Kaneda on Sept. 10. It should be bright temporarily in outburst now. However, it became somewhat brighter in November than October. It still keeps bright as 12.6 mag (Nov. 22, Seiichi Yoshida). It keeps locating high in the evening sky for a while after this. It will keep visible visually for some more time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 0 23.37 -8 18.5 1.659 1.878 86 15.6 18:26 ( 10, 46) Jan. 3 0 37.63 -7 4.9 1.764 1.917 83 15.9 18:30 ( 16, 47) 65P/Gunn Now it is 15.8 mag (Dec. 11, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will brighten up to 12-13 mag in 2010 summer. It reaches to 14.5 mag in 2009 spring, and keeps observable in good condition until 2009 summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 12 27.87 8 53.2 3.207 3.397 92 15.7 5:36 (344, 63) Jan. 3 12 32.11 8 47.6 3.085 3.375 98 15.6 5:38 (358, 64) 59P/Kearns-Kwee Now it is 16.2 mag (Oct. 27, Gustavo Muler). It will be observable at 16 mag in good condition from autumn to winter. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 2 1.74 25 40.3 1.760 2.417 120 15.9 19:37 ( 0, 81) Jan. 3 2 5.93 25 22.0 1.821 2.406 114 15.9 19:14 ( 0, 80) C/2008 J1 ( Boattini ) Diffuse comet, but it brightened up to 9.8 mag on July 7 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading, but still visible visually at 14.8 mag (Dec. 20, Jose Carvajal). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable until 2009 spring when the comet becomes faint. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 2 17.25 63 25.1 2.025 2.694 123 16.0 19:53 (180, 62) Jan. 3 2 25.84 60 3.3 2.118 2.756 120 16.4 19:34 (180, 65) 204P/2008 R5 ( LINEAR-NEAT ) At the discovery in 2001, it became much brighter after the perihelion passage. In this apparition, although it was so faint as 20 mag in early September, it has already brightened rapidly up to 17.2 mag (Dec. 20, J. M. Ruiz). It will reach up to 16 mag in January, and will be observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 8 40.23 18 59.6 1.041 1.946 147 16.3 2:18 ( 0, 74) Jan. 3 8 39.03 19 47.1 1.013 1.951 155 16.1 1:49 ( 0, 75) C/2008 P1 ( Garradd ) Now it is 15.5 mag (Oct. 18, Yasukazu Ikari). It will be too low in the evening sky in January. In 2009, it will be observable at 15 mag in good condition for a long time from summer to autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 22 57.86 -27 29.5 4.677 4.291 61 16.2 18:26 ( 27, 22) Jan. 3 23 0.81 -25 51.7 4.744 4.267 55 16.2 18:30 ( 34, 21) C/2007 U1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 14.2 mag and visible visually (Nov. 22, Seiichi Yoshida). But it starts fading in December, and will get lower in the evening sky in January. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 23 54.81 12 25.3 3.476 3.585 88 16.3 18:26 ( 33, 64) Jan. 3 23 51.17 11 60.0 3.641 3.610 80 16.5 18:30 ( 48, 59) C/2008 R3 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 15.8 mag (Nov. 23, I. Almendros). It will be fading slowly after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 21 39.27 28 14.1 2.059 1.952 69 16.5 18:26 ( 94, 49) Jan. 3 22 0.49 29 4.2 2.106 1.970 68 16.6 18:30 ( 97, 47) 77P/Longmore Now it is 17.6 mag (Nov. 23, Catalina Sky Survey). It will be observable at 15 mag in good condition in 2009 spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 12 26.52 16 26.9 2.344 2.633 95 16.8 5:36 (340, 70) Jan. 3 12 31.95 15 54.0 2.236 2.612 101 16.6 5:38 (357, 71) 61P/Shajn-Schaldach Now it is 13.9 mag and visible visually (Nov. 1, Seiichi Yoshida). It will be fading slowly after this. But it keeps observable in good condition until February when it becomes fainter than 18 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 3 6.02 8 6.7 1.510 2.274 130 16.6 20:41 ( 0, 63) Jan. 3 3 8.20 8 38.5 1.594 2.294 123 16.8 20:16 ( 0, 64) P/2008 Q2 ( Ory ) It passed near by earth in October. It brightened more rapidly than expected, and it reached up to about 13.7 mag in November and became visible visually (Nov. 24, Marco Goiato). However, it is fading rapidly now. It has already faded down to 17.3 mag (Dec. 25, P. C. Sherrod). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 3 23.04 20 30.5 0.696 1.572 138 17.3 20:58 ( 0, 76) Jan. 3 3 32.08 21 18.1 0.766 1.608 133 17.9 20:40 ( 0, 76) 2001 TX16 Peculiar asteroid moving along a cometary orbit. It will be observable around 17 mag in good condition for a long time until May. It will fade out very rapidly after May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 13 21.38 0 51.6 1.459 1.568 77 17.4 5:36 (326, 51) Jan. 3 13 36.04 -0 18.1 1.434 1.598 80 17.4 5:38 (332, 51) P/2008 QP20 ( LINEAR-Hill ) It brightened rapidly and became brighter than expected. It reached up to 16.1 mag in November (Nov. 17, A. Sanchez). But it is fading now. It has already faded down to 17.2 mag (Dec. 27, A. Klotz, F. Kugel, C. Rinner). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 2 2.69 26 6.0 1.076 1.795 121 17.5 19:38 ( 0, 81) Jan. 3 2 13.24 26 5.8 1.146 1.814 116 17.7 19:21 ( 0, 81) P/2008 L2 ( Hill ) It brightened rapidly, and reached to the maximum after the perihelion passage. It was visible visually at 14.8 mag on Sept. 29 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.3 mag (Dec. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 1 18.11 5 48.8 2.149 2.581 104 17.5 18:53 ( 0, 61) Jan. 3 1 25.19 5 33.1 2.264 2.607 99 17.7 18:33 ( 0, 61) 211P/2008 X1 ( Hill ) Now it is 17.4 mag (Dec. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable in good condition at 17.5-18 mag until March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 5 5.05 5 33.9 1.587 2.508 154 17.5 22:39 ( 0, 61) Jan. 3 4 59.96 6 35.5 1.605 2.494 147 17.5 22:06 ( 0, 62) 188P/2007 J7 ( LINEAR-Mueller ) It was observed as bright as 14-15 mag in 2007 autumn. Now it is 18.1 mag (Nov. 21, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable in good condition for a while. It will be fainter than 18 mag in Feburary. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 8 12.66 33 30.7 2.595 3.506 154 17.5 1:51 ( 0, 88) Jan. 3 8 7.09 33 48.0 2.590 3.533 160 17.5 1:18 ( 0, 89) C/2008 X3 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 17.4 mag (Dec. 23, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable at 17.5-18 mag until February. But it is moving southwards, and getting lower in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 12 20.11 -0 34.4 1.866 2.119 90 17.6 5:36 (351, 54) Jan. 3 12 16.60 -3 35.7 1.797 2.157 97 17.6 5:26 ( 0, 51) 51P/Harrington It was visible visually at 14.0 mag in autumn (Sept. 7, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It is fading, but it is 15.4 mag still now (Dec. 3, Mitsunori Tsumura), brighter than expected. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 4 1.29 19 18.8 1.541 2.424 146 17.7 21:36 ( 0, 74) Jan. 3 3 59.39 19 32.8 1.635 2.464 139 18.0 21:06 ( 0, 75) P/1999 XN120 ( Catalina ) Now it should be brightest. But it has not been recovered yet. It was observed only around the perihelion at the discovery in 1999. If it was bright temporarily in outburst, it can be much fainter than this ephemeris in this apparition. Josef Mueller reported it was 19.2 mag on Dec. 16, 2007, but it was not confirmed. It was not detected, fainter than 19.2 mag on Dec. 20 (James R. Schofer). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 6 21.87 24 37.8 2.326 3.310 178 17.7 0:00 ( 0, 80) Jan. 3 6 16.50 24 30.7 2.337 3.312 171 17.7 23:23 ( 0, 79) 200P/2008 L1 ( Larsen ) Although it was extremely faint as 20 mag in June, it brightened much faster than expected and reached up to 17.1 mag (Oct. 30, P. C. Sherrod). However, it will fade out rapidly after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in January. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 0 49.29 10 52.9 3.026 3.341 100 17.8 18:26 ( 1, 66) Jan. 3 0 54.04 10 54.3 3.133 3.349 94 17.9 18:30 ( 17, 65) 44P/Reinmuth 2 It was observed at 16.5-17 mag in 2007 autumn. Now it is 17.4 mag (Dec. 8, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be fainter than 18 mag soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 4 20.10 25 46.0 2.140 3.043 151 17.9 21:54 ( 0, 81) Jan. 3 4 16.67 25 21.1 2.222 3.072 143 18.0 21:23 ( 0, 80) 209P/2008 X2 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 17.9 mag (Dec. 27, J. M. Ruiz). It will brighten rapidly and will be observable at 16 mag in March and April. It moves southwards very fast after early April, and will be unobservable very soon in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 10 18.20 40 59.3 0.929 1.722 128 18.2 3:55 (180, 84) Jan. 3 10 31.61 43 48.4 0.834 1.656 131 17.9 3:41 (180, 81) C/2006 K1 ( McNaught ) It reached up to 16 mag last winter. Now it is 17.7 mag (Nov. 19, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be fainter than 18 mag soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 4 22.47 20 50.8 5.194 6.078 151 17.9 21:57 ( 0, 76) Jan. 3 4 19.05 21 14.6 5.292 6.114 143 18.0 21:26 ( 0, 76) 33P/Daniel Now it is 17.5-18.0 mag (Nov. 9, Michael Jager). It keeps observable at 18 mag in good condition until February. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 11 37.80 32 43.4 1.959 2.495 111 17.9 5:15 ( 0, 88) Jan. 3 11 42.33 33 41.1 1.917 2.521 116 17.9 4:52 ( 0, 89) 17P/Holmes Great outburst occured in 2007 October, and it bacame a naked eye comet of 2 mag. It kept so bright as 5.5 mag still in 2008 spring (Apr. 30, Carlos Labordena), but it was extremely faint and difficult to see. The size was so large, the diameter was larger than 60 arcmin. It will become observable in good condition in this autumn and winter again. The extremely faint large diffuse glow may be detected with a best sky condition, around 5-6 mag with a diameter of 1 or 2 degrees. Mitsunori Tsumura detected a possible glow of Comet Holmes on Nov. 4. Current brightness of the central core is 17.8 mag (Oct. 31, Ken-ichi Kadota), much brighter than pre-outburst brightness still now. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 9 12.71 25 58.0 3.327 4.144 141 18.5 2:51 ( 0, 81) Jan. 3 9 8.25 26 10.2 3.289 4.167 149 18.5 2:19 ( 0, 81) 173P/2005 T1 ( Mueller 5 ) It was observed bright at 16.5-17 mag from late 2006 to early 2007. However, it is fading after that, although it is getting closer to the sun. It was so faint as 19.4 mag around the perihelion passage in 2008 spring (Mar. 10, Mitsunori Tsumura). This comet was observed so faint around the perihelion passage in the previous apparition at the discovery. It faded out before the perihelion passage again in this apparition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 11 49.49 17 42.7 3.966 4.319 104 21.5 5:27 ( 0, 73) Jan. 3 11 51.66 18 4.2 3.874 4.326 111 21.5 5:01 ( 0, 73) C/2007 K3 ( Siding Spring ) It was predicted to be so bright as 14 mag from spring to summer in 2008. But actually, it was extremely faint as 19.5 mag (Aug. 4, Gustavo Muler). Although it locates in good condition, it will be hard to observe. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 27 23 1.77 10 27.2 3.597 3.489 75 22.1 18:26 ( 52, 55) Jan. 3 23 9.44 10 46.9 3.748 3.548 70 22.2 18:30 ( 60, 51)