Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2009 May 23: North)

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Updated on May 31, 2009
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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.

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* C/2008 Q3 ( Garradd )

Now it is so bright as 7.6 mag (May 17, Marco Goiato). It was origianlly predicted to be 13 mag, but actually, it is much brighter than expected now. The condition is excellent in the Southern Hemisphere, and it keeps visible with binoculars until summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is only observable from early June to mid August in the evening low sky.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  16 53.76  -67 17.7   1.000   1.842   132    7.3   0:59 (  0,-12)  
May  30  15  2.56  -61 14.0   0.942   1.825   137    7.0  22:23 (  0, -6)  

* C/2008 T2 ( Cardinal )

It is already so bright as 8.6 mag (May 16, Marco Goiato). It will reach to 8 mag in June. Now it is moving southwards very fast. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is getting lower very rapidly, and it will never be observable again after June. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this in the evening sky.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   6 56.79   14 42.3   1.787   1.247    42    8.5  20:43 (101, 10)  
May  30   7 12.22   10 34.7   1.792   1.223    40    8.4  20:50 (100,  4)  

* C/2006 W3 ( Christensen )

It is already so bright as 8.9 mag (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). 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)  
May  23  22 47.75   35 11.8   3.380   3.156    68    8.9   3:10 (253, 46)  
May  30  22 43.91   35 24.5   3.265   3.148    74    8.8   3:04 (255, 52)  

* C/2009 G1 ( STEREO )

Now it is bright as 8.5 mag (May 7, Alexandre Amorim). It keeps 9-10 mag until June. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in a good condition for a long time. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   0 44.13  -39  8.3   1.072   1.271    75    9.2   3:10 (306,-16)  
May  30   1 31.18  -47 48.4   1.047   1.325    79    9.3   3:04 (312,-24)  

* C/2009 F6 ( Yi-SWAN )

Now it is bright as 8.9 mag (May 12, Uwe Pilz). It keeps 9-10 mag for a while until July. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is getting lower in the evening sky, and will be too low to observe soon. But it will appear in the morning sky again at 12 mag in late August, then it will be fading slowly in the low sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable until August. But it keeps observable in good condition for a long time after August.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   5  3.81   43 34.5   2.118   1.296    26    9.3  20:43 (139,  8)  
May  30   5 26.95   40  2.3   2.200   1.319    22    9.4  20:50 (137,  4)  

* 22P/Kopff

Now it is 9.0 mag, already so bright (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be bright at 9-10 mag for a long time until autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  21 32.24  -12 11.3   1.040   1.578   100    9.5   3:10 (318, 32)  
May  30  21 47.74  -11 21.0   0.999   1.578   103    9.5   3:04 (320, 34)  

* C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring )

It has already brightened up to 10.2 mag (May 16, Marco Goiato). It keeps as bright as 10-11 mag for a long time untio 2010 spring. It is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere now. But it will appear in the morning sky in early October, then it keeps observable at 10 mag in good condition for a long time. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is getting lower rapidly in the evening sky, and will be too low to observe in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   6 50.76  -12  1.0   3.213   2.731    53   11.2  20:43 ( 80, -6)  
May  30   7  2.10  -10 14.0   3.233   2.689    49   11.1  20:50 ( 84,-10)  

* C/2007 N3 ( Lulin )

It passed near by the earth in late February, and it reached up to 4.9 mag (Feb. 23, Juan Jose Gonzalez). The coma extended up to 20 arcmin, and the anti-tail was clearly visible. Now it is fading rapidly. It has already faded down to 11.4 mag (May 16, Marco Goiato). It will be unobservable soon. But it will appear in the morning sky again at 14 mag in August.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   6 41.96   22 14.6   2.983   2.270    37   11.8  20:43 (109, 11)  
May  30   6 44.98   22 10.6   3.147   2.348    31   12.1  20:50 (113,  5)  

* 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

It brightened very rapidly, faster than expected, and reached up to 9.3 mag in spring (Mar. 26, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 10.5 mag (Apr. 26, V.M. Ivanov). It will be too low to observe in the evening at 13 mag in late June.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   6 54.72   27 46.1   2.221   1.593    40   12.0  20:43 (112, 17)  
May  30   7 18.34   27 12.7   2.300   1.643    39   12.2  20:50 (113, 15)  

* C/2009 E1 ( Itagaki )

It brightened rapidly, and it reached up to 7.5 mag on Apr. 5 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is appearing in the morning sky again. It was still very bright as 8.8 mag on May 2 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be getting higher gradually after this, and it keeps observable until it has gone away. The comet will fade out rapidly, but it will be visible visually at 13 mag still in late May.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   0  2.58   30 53.8   1.340   1.102    53   12.3   3:10 (251, 30)  
May  30  23 43.62   30 36.9   1.258   1.210    63   13.1   3:04 (256, 38)  

* 116P/Wild 4

Now it is very bright as 11.3 mag (May 15, Marco Goiato). It keeps observable until July when it becomes too low in the evening sky, around 12-13 mag for a long time.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  10  0.22   14  4.5   2.051   2.212    85   12.8  20:43 ( 71, 47)  
May  30  10  9.75   12 59.5   2.118   2.204    81   12.8  20:50 ( 75, 41)  

* C/2006 OF2 ( Broughton )

It brightened up to 9.8 mag in December and January (Dec. 28, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading, but still bright as 12.4 mag (Apr. 28, Martin Lehky). It will be too low to observe in June. However, it will be observable in good condition again in winter at 15 mag. Then it may be still visible visually.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   7 42.51   27 59.6   4.140   3.591    51   13.2  20:43 (107, 26)  
May  30   7 51.23   27  2.4   4.266   3.642    46   13.3  20:50 (109, 21)  

* 64P/Swift-Gehrels

The condition of this return is bad, and it has not been observed yet. It will appear in the morning low sky at 13.5 mag in June. Then it will be getting higher gradually while fading slowly.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   2 11.87   19  4.1   2.251   1.403    25   13.5   3:10 (246, -1)  
May  30   2 36.27   21  6.3   2.230   1.390    25   13.4   3:04 (244,  0)  

* C/2007 G1 ( LINEAR )

It brightened up to 11.5 mag in last 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)  
May  23   5  0.92  -45  0.3   3.545   3.285    67   13.4  20:43 ( 58,-42)  
May  30   5 11.59  -43 26.1   3.609   3.327    65   13.5  20:50 ( 61,-46)  

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

Now it is 12.3 mag, still visible visually (Apr. 28, Martin Lehky). It had been visible visually as bright as 10-11 mag for half a year since 2008 September until 2009 March. However, it has been faint as 12 mag since April. It will be unobservable in June.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   7 59.80   21 41.9   6.644   6.132    55   14.0  20:43 ( 99, 27)  
May  30   8  3.98   21 25.0   6.735   6.134    50   14.0  20:50 (102, 20)  

* 144P/Kushida

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. Now it is fading rapidly. But it is still bright as 12.0 mag (Apr. 28, Martin Lehky). It is getting lower gradually in the evening sky, and will be too low to observe in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   9 22.49   11  4.6   1.853   1.913    77   14.2  20:43 ( 75, 38)  
May  30   9 38.11    9 59.5   1.960   1.959    74   14.6  20:50 ( 78, 33)  

* C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught )

It reached to 10.9 mag in May (May 11, Marco Goiato). It is fading slowly. Now it is 14.0 mag (Apr. 28, Martin Lehky), still visible visually. 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)  
May  23  16 28.92   36 28.0   3.593   4.225   122   14.3   0:27 (180, 89)  
May  30  16 24.25   37  3.5   3.660   4.274   121   14.4  23:51 (180, 88)  

* 65P/Gunn

Now it is 12.9 mag and visible visually (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will brighten up to 12-13 mag in 2010 summer. In 2009, it keeps observable in good condition until summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  11 51.79   12 23.0   2.434   2.951   110   14.4  20:43 ( 33, 64)  
May  30  11 53.03   11 40.2   2.501   2.930   104   14.4  20:50 ( 46, 59)  

* 88P/Howell

Now it is 15.5 mag (Apr. 19, Ken-ichi Kadota). 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)  
May  23  12 20.42    1 14.5   1.264   1.997   122   14.6  20:43 ( 12, 56)  
May  30  12 19.84    0 52.3   1.286   1.951   115   14.5  20:50 ( 27, 53)  

* C/2008 A1 ( McNaught )

It reached to 6.3 mag in September in the southern sky (Sept. 4, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading. It has already become fainter than 16 mag by CCD observations. 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)  
May  23   0 31.97   77 20.3   3.801   3.444    62   15.0   3:10 (196, 36)  
May  30   1  1.26   78 58.0   3.886   3.520    61   15.1   3:04 (194, 36)  

* C/2005 L3 ( McNaught )

Now it is 13.7 mag (Apr. 21, Juan Jose Gonzalez). 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)  
May  23  13 39.02   38  6.5   6.155   6.613   112   15.0  21:33 (180, 87)  
May  30  13 32.43   37 58.1   6.263   6.639   107   15.1  20:59 (180, 87)  

* 77P/Longmore

Now it is visible visually at 13.6 mag (Apr. 23, Mitsunori Tsumura). It will keep 14-15 mag for a while. But it will be getting lower rapidly after this, and will be too low to observe in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  11 31.15    2  3.6   1.772   2.331   110   15.1  20:43 ( 33, 52)  
May  30  11 33.51    0 34.5   1.845   2.325   105   15.2  20:50 ( 42, 47)  

* 199P/2008 G2 ( Shoemaker 4 )

It has brightened up to 14 mag in outburst in 2008 August. It has not been observable for a long time, but it is appearing in the morning sky. Now it is bright as 15.4 mag (May 8, Ken-ichi Kadota), brighter than originally expected.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  21 13.62  -27 33.4   2.462   2.952   109   15.2   3:10 (331, 21)  
May  30  21 18.39  -28 28.0   2.386   2.957   114   15.2   3:04 (335, 22)  

* 217P/2009 F3 ( LINEAR )

Now it is 16.7 mag (Apr. 26, R. H. McNaught). It will brighten rapidly after this, and it is expected to be observable at 10-11 mag in a good condition for a long time from summer to winter.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  22  0.58   -8 56.9   1.444   1.803    92   15.7   3:10 (310, 31)  
May  30  22 17.69   -8 10.0   1.333   1.747    95   15.3   3:04 (310, 32)  

* C/2007 B2 ( Skiff )

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). In the Southern Hemisphere, 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)  
May  23  20 21.25  -53 31.8   3.375   3.990   120   15.4   3:10 (350,  0)  
May  30  20 20.94  -54 13.9   3.356   4.033   125   15.4   3:04 (353,  0)  

* (3200) Phaethon

It passes the perihelion in June, and brightens up to 13.5 mag. But it is not observable, too close to the sun.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   4 48.47   21 56.7   1.779   0.812    11   15.9  20:43 (125, -9)  
May  30   5 11.06   21 32.5   1.642   0.668    10   15.4  20:50 (127,-11)  

* C/2008 P1 ( Garradd )

Getting higher gradually in the morning sky. It keeps observable in good condition at 15 mag until late autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   0 34.85    4 30.8   4.472   3.932    52   15.7   3:10 (272, 10)  
May  30   0 38.40    6  0.2   4.376   3.924    57   15.6   3:04 (273, 15)  

* C/2008 N1 ( Holmes )

Now it is 16.3 mag (Mar. 20, H. Sato). It will brighten up to 15 mag in 2009 and 2010, and will be observable for a long time in good condition.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  21 27.27   45  4.6   3.057   3.066    80   15.8   3:10 (238, 62)  
May  30  21 16.46   48  0.9   2.951   3.037    85   15.7   3:04 (228, 67)  

* 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh

Now it is 14.5 mag and visible visually (Mar. 22, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be getting lower in the evening sky after this, and will be too low to observe in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23   9 27.76   21 33.6   3.679   3.566    75   15.9  20:43 ( 87, 44)  
May  30   9 33.76   20 57.2   3.772   3.564    70   15.9  20:50 ( 90, 38)  

* 209P/2008 X2 ( LINEAR )

It passed near by the earth in April. It brightened up to 14.3 mag and became visible visually (Apr. 22, Alan Hale). It moves southward very rapidly, and it will locate very low after late May in the Northern Hemisphere. The ephemeris says that it will be fading after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in August. But actually, it has not started fading after the perihelion passage. It is still bright as 13.8 mag (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  22 59.07  -23 19.8   0.417   1.062    85   16.2   3:10 (309, 11)  
May  30  23 12.00  -27 44.8   0.452   1.115    90   16.4   3:04 (313,  9)  

* C/2006 S3 ( LONEOS )

It has not been observed since January, but it must have already brightened up to 16.5 mag. It is expected to reach up to 12 mag in 2012, and to be observable visually at 12-13 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2013. In 2009, it is observable in good condition at 16 mag from summer to autumn. In the Northern Hemisphere, the comet will be low around its brightest seasons.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  22 58.09    5 48.3   9.341   9.118    74   16.5   3:10 (286, 31)  
May  30  22 57.57    5 56.9   9.186   9.080    80   16.4   3:04 (290, 35)  

* C/2008 FK75 ( Lemmon-Siding Spring )

Now it is 16.6 mag (Apr. 15, Ken-ichi Kadota). 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)  
May  23  15 19.59    4 34.5   5.043   5.963   153   16.8  23:14 (  0, 60)  
May  30  15 16.41    5 16.9   5.046   5.929   147   16.7  22:43 (  0, 60)  

* C/2009 F5 ( McNaught )

It was discovered at 15.5 mag in spring (Mar. 20, R. H. McNaught). Fading now, and will be fainter than 18 mag in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  13 52.56   -8 29.1   2.229   3.128   147   16.9  21:47 (  0, 47)  
May  30  13 47.70   -6  2.0   2.349   3.179   138   17.1  21:15 (  0, 49)  

* C/2008 Q1 ( Maticic )

It reached up to 16.4 mag in spring (Mar. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be fading after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  14  7.53   33 21.8   2.659   3.283   119   17.0  22:01 (  0, 88)  
May  30  13 51.55   31 38.1   2.757   3.313   114   17.1  21:18 (  0, 86)  

* 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 16.4 mag (Apr. 4, Ken-ichi Kadota). 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)  
May  23  12 27.97   32 59.4   2.736   3.175   106   17.1  20:43 ( 64, 85)  
May  30  12 27.71   31 31.1   2.857   3.219   101   17.3  20:50 ( 76, 78)  

* C/2009 F4 ( McNaught )

It will reach up to 14-15 mag from 2011 to 2012. Now it is 17.3 mag (May 1, Ken-ichi Kadota), and locates low in the south.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  15 18.15  -24 52.0   7.630   8.628   169   17.3  23:13 (  0, 30)  
May  30  15 14.29  -24 57.9   7.619   8.593   162   17.3  22:41 (  0, 30)  

* C/2006 U6 ( Spacewatch )

It has already faded down to 17.1 mag (Apr. 28, Yasukazu Ikari). It will be fainter than 18 mag in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  11  9.88    3 28.5   3.994   4.371   105   17.3  20:43 ( 41, 51)  
May  30  11 10.86    4 20.6   4.161   4.424    98   17.4  20:50 ( 52, 47)  

* 2001 TX16

Peculiar asteroid moving along a cometary orbit. It will fade out very rapidly after May.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May  23  13 42.06   -3 42.7   1.586   2.469   142   17.9  21:37 (  0, 51)  
May  30  13 40.10   -4  8.8   1.688   2.516   135   18.1  21:07 (  0, 51)  

* 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). Now it is extremely faint as 21.2 mag (Apr. 20, J. V. Scotti). 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)  
May  23  11 20.20   22 49.1   4.213   4.490    99   22.7  20:43 ( 63, 67)  
May  30  11 22.06   22 15.0   4.321   4.500    93   22.8  20:50 ( 72, 61)  

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