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Now it is 4.9 mag (Feb. 23, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Also visible with naked eyes under the excellent sky condition. Now it is passing near by the earth, and moving westwards very rapidly. It keeps observable in the excellent condition long time around the highlight until spring. Because it moves along the ecliptic plane, the anti-tail is clearly visible.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 10 7.43 11 21.3 0.436 1.423 170 5.4 23:23 ( 0, 67)
Mar. 7 8 29.27 18 29.6 0.582 1.480 138 6.2 21:23 ( 0, 74)
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Brightening very rapidly, faster than expected. It is already so bright as 9.4 mag (Feb. 25, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It is expected to reach to 8 mag in 2009 summer. It becomes low tempporarily in February and March. But then it will be observable at 8-10 mag in good condition for a long time until late autumn.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 22 30.17 35 7.5 4.017 3.365 43 9.7 5:07 (234, 10)
Mar. 7 22 34.02 34 40.1 4.027 3.341 40 9.7 4:58 (236, 13)
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It brightened much faster than expected, and reached up to 8.4 mag (Jan. 30, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It was very large and visible through binoculars. It will be fading after this, but still bright as 8.6 mag (Feb. 25, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps locating high in the evening sky for a while. It keeps higher than 40 degree until mid May when it fades down to 14 mag.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 5 36.06 17 22.8 0.881 1.484 104 9.8 19:18 ( 11, 72)
Mar. 7 5 56.43 17 30.0 0.935 1.505 102 10.1 19:24 ( 21, 71)
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Brightening very rapidly, faster than expected. Now it is bright as 10.2 mag (Feb. 25, Juan Jose Gonzalez), already visible visually. It keeps 10-11 mag and observable in the evening sky for a long time until May.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 1 37.49 11 20.3 1.683 1.247 47 11.3 19:18 ( 84, 29)
Mar. 7 2 1.97 14 10.4 1.696 1.249 46 11.2 19:24 ( 88, 28)
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It brightened up to 9.8 mag in December and January (Dec. 28, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading, but still bright as 11.2 mag (Feb. 25, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps visible visually for a long time until June when it becomes low in the evening at 13 mag.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 6 8.52 42 5.8 2.517 3.018 111 11.4 19:35 (180, 83)
Mar. 7 6 14.16 40 34.5 2.641 3.062 105 11.5 19:24 (161, 84)
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Now it is 12.9 mag, already visible visually (Feb. 22, Marco Goiato). It will be bright at 9-10 mag for a long time from spring to autumn.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 17 46.49 -19 8.8 1.820 1.794 72 11.9 5:07 (325, 28)
Mar. 7 18 5.72 -19 10.1 1.735 1.764 75 11.7 4:58 (325, 28)
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Already very bright as 11.3 mag (Feb. 28, Marco Goiato). It is expected to brighten up to 10 mag from late 2009 to early 2010. Good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable in the evening low sky from February to April. Then it becomes unobservable until September. But after 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 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)
Feb. 28 5 17.25 -39 25.6 3.145 3.318 91 12.0 19:18 ( 7, 15)
Mar. 7 5 20.53 -37 2.8 3.131 3.265 88 11.9 19:24 ( 13, 17)
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It reached to 6.3 mag in September in the southern sky (Sept. 4, Marco Goiato). It was bright at 10.0 mag still on Jan. 13 (U. Pilz). However, no visual observations have been reported since that. 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)
Feb. 28 20 48.81 47 53.1 2.815 2.498 61 12.2 5:07 (231, 33)
Mar. 7 21 3.80 50 53.5 2.883 2.579 62 12.5 4:58 (228, 34)
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Now it brightened up to 11.3 mag (Feb. 25, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will reach to 10-11 mag in 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 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)
Feb. 28 3 31.62 59 0.7 1.744 1.972 87 12.7 19:18 (147, 57)
Mar. 7 3 50.50 55 39.6 1.734 1.897 83 12.5 19:24 (140, 57)
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It brightened up to 11.5 mag in summer (Aug. 4, Marco Goiato). Although it is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition for a long time in the Southern Hemisphere. However, no visual observations have been reported since last summer. Recent CCD observations suggest that it is still visible visually around 12-13 mag.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 0 35.91 -73 24.0 3.093 2.863 67 12.5 19:18 ( 19,-30)
Mar. 7 1 20.91 -71 20.6 3.092 2.891 69 12.6 19:24 ( 21,-28)
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Now it is very bright as 11.7 mag (Feb. 25, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will to be observable at 12-13 mag for a long time from January to July.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 9 30.24 19 53.3 1.437 2.387 158 12.8 22:56 ( 0, 75)
Mar. 7 9 25.47 20 1.6 1.453 2.368 150 12.8 22:24 ( 0, 75)
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It was expected to reach up to 7 mag and to be observable in good condition in winter. But finally, the comet has never been recovered after all. This comet has not been observed since 1986. It was not detected, fainter than 20 mag on Dec. 1 (Takaaki Oribe). So it will be much fainter than expected, maybe already disappeared.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 3 52.62 24 39.9 1.307 1.524 81 12.9 19:18 ( 76, 63)
Mar. 7 4 18.59 25 29.6 1.404 1.584 80 13.7 19:24 ( 79, 62)
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It reached to 10.9 mag in May (May 11, Marco Goiato). It is fading slowly. Now it is 13.9 mag (Feb. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps bright as 13-14 mag for a long time after this until summer.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 16 40.68 17 1.3 3.475 3.665 93 13.5 5:07 (318, 67)
Mar. 7 16 44.43 18 56.3 3.442 3.709 97 13.5 4:58 (324, 71)
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Since the major outburst in last September, with a new outburst in December, it has been so bright as 10-11 mag for about half a year. Now it is still bright as 11.0 mag (Feb. 25, Juan Jose Gonzalez).
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 7 42.98 23 41.6 5.379 6.109 134 13.5 21:09 ( 0, 79)
Mar. 7 7 41.42 23 38.2 5.466 6.111 126 13.6 20:40 ( 0, 79)
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Now it is 14.2 mag and visible visually (Feb. 26, Alan Hale). 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)
Feb. 28 12 35.13 11 21.5 2.293 3.204 152 14.7 2:05 ( 0, 66)
Mar. 7 12 31.23 11 57.4 2.237 3.183 158 14.6 1:33 ( 0, 67)
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Now it is 13.9 mag (Feb. 7, Ken-ichi Kadota). It had been bright and visible visually around 13 mag from spring to autumn in 2008. It will be visible visually at 14 mag again until summer.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 15 5.73 29 33.0 5.833 6.320 115 14.7 4:35 ( 0, 84)
Mar. 7 15 0.99 30 46.4 5.784 6.343 120 14.7 4:02 ( 0, 86)
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It had been observed until mid January in the evening low sky. It reached up to 14.1 mag (Jan. 11, Ken-ichi Kadota). Now it is not observable. It will be observable again in summer, but it will be fainter than 17 mag.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 23 7.41 -4 50.8 2.783 1.802 6 14.8 19:18 ( 92,-11)
Mar. 7 23 25.69 -3 23.9 2.807 1.819 4 14.9 19:24 ( 96,-14)
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It reached up to 9.6 mag in summer (Aug. 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 15.3 mag (Feb. 27, Katsumi Yoshimoto). It keeps observable in good condition until June when it becomes fainter than 18 mag.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 13 44.38 37 41.7 1.869 2.615 129 15.0 3:14 (180, 87)
Mar. 7 13 37.91 38 42.4 1.889 2.664 132 15.2 2:40 (180, 86)
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It brightened up to 12.7 mag in 2008 spring (Apr. 12, Marco Goiato). But it faded down to 14.9 mag in July (July 22, Mitsunori Tsumura). No observations have been reported for a long time since last summer. But in the Southern Hemisphere, it has appeared in the morning sky, and it will be observable in good condition after this. It will never be observable again in the Northern Hemisphere.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 18 56.52 -46 25.4 3.876 3.515 61 15.1 5:07 (328, -3)
Mar. 7 19 8.32 -46 54.3 3.834 3.551 66 15.1 4:58 (329, -2)
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Now it is visible visually at 14.4 mag (Feb. 26, Alan Hale). It will be observable at 15 mag in good condition in spring.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 12 32.01 13 28.9 1.543 2.467 152 15.3 2:02 ( 0, 68)
Mar. 7 12 25.67 13 10.7 1.496 2.452 159 15.2 1:28 ( 0, 68)
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Now it is 15.5 mag (Feb. 14, Catalina Sky Survey). 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)
Feb. 28 9 13.55 24 24.7 2.686 3.597 152 15.3 22:39 ( 0, 79)
Mar. 7 9 9.94 24 35.7 2.732 3.593 145 15.3 22:08 ( 0, 80)
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It must have been fainter than 18 mag, however, an outburst occured unexpectedly on Jan. 30 and it brightened up to 15.2 mag (Catalina Sky Survey). Then it faded rapidly, down to 18.6 mag on Feb. 19 (Leonid Elenin). However, another outburst occured on Feb. 20 and it brightened to 14.6 mag (Leonid Elenin). It is also visible visually at 13.7 mag (Feb. 25, Juan Jose Gonzalez).
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 11 23.49 41 21.3 1.868 2.743 145 15.4 0:53 (180, 84)
Mar. 7 11 16.68 41 33.4 1.910 2.773 143 17.0 0:19 (180, 83)
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First return of a bright new periodic comet discovered by SOHO spacecraft in 2003. Now it was re-discovered by STEREO-B spacecraft. It reached up to 6-7 mag in the SOHO images in late December, then it was observed around 10 mag in the morning sky in early January. Now it is fading. But it was bright as 12.5 mag still on Feb. 5 (Michael Jager). It keeps observable in good condition while fading gradually after this.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 15 49.01 -0 46.5 0.754 1.378 103 15.5 5:07 (355, 54)
Mar. 7 15 38.67 0 39.7 0.768 1.472 112 15.9 4:40 ( 0, 56)
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Now it is 16.2 mag (Jan. 3, Ken-ichi Kadota). It should have reached up to 14.5 mag in summer in the southern sky, but it is already fading. 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)
Feb. 28 11 54.12 -17 53.1 2.861 3.744 148 16.1 1:24 ( 0, 37)
Mar. 7 11 47.72 -15 50.3 2.862 3.795 156 16.1 0:50 ( 0, 39)
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Brightened rapidly, and now it reached up to 16.5 mag (Feb. 28, E. Reina). It will be observable at 16.5 mag until 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)
Feb. 28 15 31.70 73 48.0 0.385 1.139 102 16.3 4:58 (180, 51)
Mar. 7 17 8.52 72 39.2 0.355 1.084 95 16.3 4:58 (188, 51)
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Now it is 16.8 mag (Feb. 21, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be getting fainter and lower in the evening sky. It becomes unobservable in May.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 3 19.27 26 3.3 2.411 2.356 74 16.4 19:18 ( 85, 56)
Mar. 7 3 32.02 26 20.0 2.487 2.356 70 16.4 19:24 ( 89, 52)
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Now it is 16.9 mag (Feb. 17, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be observable at 16.5 mag in good condition in 2009 spring.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 17 25.70 27 36.9 2.946 3.019 84 16.8 5:07 (280, 66)
Mar. 7 17 19.09 28 57.1 2.855 3.033 90 16.8 4:58 (283, 71)
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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)
Feb. 28 14 41.86 -4 25.7 1.218 1.910 119 17.1 4:11 ( 0, 51)
Mar. 7 14 42.01 -4 21.6 1.197 1.954 126 17.1 3:44 ( 0, 51)
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Brightening rapidly than expected. It reached up to 16.8 mag (Feb. 17, Yasukazu Ikari). It will keep 17 mag until February, and will be observable in good condition until April when it becomes fainter than 18 mag.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 9 54.93 11 35.5 0.697 1.678 167 17.1 23:21 ( 0, 66)
Mar. 7 9 52.40 10 38.6 0.727 1.694 160 17.2 22:51 ( 0, 66)
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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 brightened very rapidly, and it reached up to 16.3 mag (Feb. 5, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable in good condition for a while after this. But it will fade out rapidly after this. It has already faded down to 17.6 mag (Feb. 21, Yasukazu Ikari). It will be fainter than 18 mag in April.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 8 17.31 25 25.6 1.188 2.055 141 17.2 21:44 ( 0, 80)
Mar. 7 8 19.04 25 32.4 1.255 2.074 134 17.3 21:18 ( 0, 81)
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It will reach to 17 mag in March. But it will fade out soon, and will be fainter than 18 mag in May.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 13 38.89 -16 18.6 1.563 2.330 130 17.3 3:09 ( 0, 39)
Mar. 7 13 8.51 -15 38.8 1.452 2.328 143 17.2 2:12 ( 0, 39)
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It keeps observable at 17.5 mag until spring. But it locates low in the Northern Hemispere.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 8 18.74 -24 13.2 3.716 4.442 132 17.3 21:45 ( 0, 31)
Mar. 7 8 16.13 -23 51.4 3.758 4.444 128 17.4 21:14 ( 0, 31)
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It will reach to 17 mag at opposition in March. But then it will fade out soon, and will be fainter than 18 mag in May.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 12 14.22 -8 50.4 1.721 2.637 151 17.5 1:44 ( 0, 46)
Mar. 7 12 11.19 -8 35.6 1.672 2.624 159 17.4 1:13 ( 0, 46)
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Now it is 18.2 mag (Mar. 1, W. Hasubick). It will be brightening rapidly after this, and will be 10 mag in autumn. It keeps observable for a long time until 2010 February. But in the Northern Hemisphere, it will be lower than 20 degree after July when it becomes about 13 mag, then it keeps very low all through the brightest time. It locates a bit higher in the Southern Hemisphere.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 13 24.45 -3 26.7 1.720 2.546 138 17.7 2:54 ( 0, 51)
Mar. 7 13 22.44 -3 7.8 1.618 2.502 145 17.4 2:24 ( 0, 52)
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Now it is 17.4 mag (Feb. 21, Yasukazu Ikari). It will reach to 15 mag in 2010. It keeps observable for a long time after this in the Northern Hemisphere.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 15 41.14 -5 38.4 6.070 6.393 104 17.5 5:07 (359, 49)
Mar. 7 15 41.74 -4 55.4 5.927 6.357 111 17.4 4:43 ( 0, 50)
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It was observed at 18 mag from autumn to winter in 2007. It will be observable again at 18 mag from winter to spring in 2009.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 10 28.71 -6 7.8 4.668 5.632 165 17.9 23:54 ( 0, 49)
Mar. 7 10 25.76 -5 59.4 4.677 5.638 164 17.9 23:24 ( 0, 49)
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Now it is 17.6 mag (Jan. 10, 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)
Feb. 28 5 5.97 16 31.6 2.064 2.404 97 17.9 19:18 ( 31, 69)
Mar. 7 5 12.75 17 40.0 2.142 2.396 92 17.9 19:24 ( 47, 67)
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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. Now it became observable in good condition 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 17.7 mag (Feb. 13, Catalina Sky Survey), much brighter than pre-outburst brightness still now.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 8 24.54 26 33.1 3.512 4.337 142 19.0 21:50 ( 0, 82)
Mar. 7 8 21.02 26 20.7 3.603 4.357 134 19.1 21:19 ( 0, 81)
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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. No observations have been reported since 2008 April at all.
Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h)
Feb. 28 11 43.13 22 48.8 3.442 4.384 159 21.7 1:13 ( 0, 78)
Mar. 7 11 39.59 23 22.0 3.443 4.392 160 21.7 0:42 ( 0, 78)
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