Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2010 Mar. 6: South)

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Updated on March 16, 2010
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Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. 35 deg in the Southern Hemisphere.
Azimuth indicates 0 for south, 90 for west, 180 for north, 270 for east.

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* C/2009 K5 ( McNaught )

Now it is so bright as 10.2 mag (Feb. 20, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will reach up to 8 mag and to be observable in good condition in spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  19  1.15   -1 36.0   1.854   1.625    61    9.8   4:24 (250, 29)  
Mar. 13  19 10.21    3 57.1   1.705   1.580    65    9.4   4:31 (241, 30)  

* 81P/Wild 2

Now it is so bright as 9.6 mag (Feb. 20, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps observable bright as 9-10 mag in a good condition for a long time until spring. It keeps observable until autumn when it fades down to 16 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  14  3.16   -6 57.6   0.746   1.602   133    9.5   3:09 (180, 62)  
Mar. 13  14  8.88   -6 52.3   0.718   1.608   139    9.5   2:48 (180, 62)  

* C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring )

It brightened up to 9.5 mag on Jan. 13 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is still bright as 11.1 mag (Feb. 20, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps as bright as 9-10 mag until spring. It will be observable in good condition for a long time after this in the Northern Hemisphere. It keeps visible visually for one year until autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  15 17.90   52 28.2   2.301   2.810   110   10.0   4:24 (180,  3)  
Mar. 13  15 21.52   54 55.1   2.350   2.856   110   10.1   4:00 (180,  0)  

* C/2006 W3 ( Christensen )

It reached up to 7.7 mag in last summer (Aug. 13, Chris Wyatt). It is fading now. It has already faded down to 11.0 mag (Feb. 24, A. Novichonok, D. Chestnov). In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this. But in the Northern Hemisphere, it is only observable in the low sky in spring, then it will never be observable again.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  20 13.98  -24  6.5   4.525   3.887    44   11.1   4:24 (282, 26)  
Mar. 13  20 16.50  -24 53.3   4.464   3.925    51   11.1   4:31 (279, 33)  

* C/2009 O2 ( Catalina )

It is not brightening at all after it appeared in the morning sky in late January. Now it is still 12.6 mag (Feb. 27, Hidetaka Sato). It seems to be only 12.5 mag at best. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be too low in early May. In the Southern Hemisphere, it becomes observable in mid April, after the perihelion passage, but it keeps locating low.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  21 16.32   28 29.9   1.126   0.790    43   12.8   4:24 (246,-15)  
Mar. 13  22  6.43   36 15.9   0.960   0.734    44   12.6   4:31 (240,-22)  

* 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4

It brightened up to 11.5 mag in January (Jan. 12, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It is still bright as 12.3 mag (Feb. 11, Carlos Labordena). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   6 10.10   17 21.8   1.520   2.045   107   13.6  19:57 (167, 37)  
Mar. 13   6 19.51   18  1.9   1.602   2.059   102   13.8  19:46 (165, 36)  

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

Great outburst up to 11 mag occured on Feb. 2. Now it is still very bright as 10.7 mag (Feb. 21, Marco Goiato).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   9 24.81   13  0.5   5.289   6.198   154   13.6  22:28 (180, 42)  
Mar. 13   9 22.23   13  9.0   5.345   6.199   146   13.6  21:58 (180, 42)  

* 65P/Gunn

Appearing in the morining sky. It will brighten up to 12-13 mag in summer. But it locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  19 12.02  -25 10.7   2.800   2.440    58   13.7   4:24 (276, 39)  
Mar. 13  19 25.15  -25 10.4   2.726   2.441    62   13.6   4:31 (273, 44)  

* C/2009 R1 ( McNaught )

It will approach to the sun down to 0.4 A.U. in July, and it is expected to reach up to 4 mag. It keeps unobservable for a while. It will appear in the morning sky at 12 mag in April. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable only until June.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  22  5.75  -11 37.7   3.259   2.320    15   14.2   4:24 (286, -3)  
Mar. 13  22 14.16   -9 57.4   3.123   2.218    20   13.9   4:31 (281,  1)  

* 43P/Wolf-Harrington

It brightened up to 15.5 mag in January (Jan. 31, C. Rinner, F. Kugel). It is not observable now. The condition of this apparition is bad. It will reach up to 11-12 mag from spring to autumn in 2010, but it is not observable.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  23 45.75    8 42.2   2.777   1.857    17   14.3  19:57 ( 88,-19)  
Mar. 13   0  2.32   10  3.0   2.750   1.811    15   14.1  19:46 ( 89,-19)  

* 126P/IRAS

It was observed as 15.6 mag at the end of last year (Dec. 6, A. Maury, J. B. de Vanssay, F. Mallia, F. Kugel). It will be 14 mag from winter to spring in 2010. But the condition is bad. Now it is not observable. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will appear in the morning sky at 15 mag in late May, then it keeps observable while fading gradually after that.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  23 37.74   -0 48.8   2.688   1.718     9   14.2  19:57 ( 79,-15)  
Mar. 13  23 50.70    2 33.5   2.706   1.725     7   14.2  19:46 ( 81,-18)  

* 88P/Howell

It reached up to 8.4 mag in October (Oct. 20, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 12.1 mag (Feb. 11, Carlos Labordena). It will be too low to observe soon.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   0 26.66    0 45.2   2.902   2.010    21   14.3  19:57 ( 87, -6)  
Mar. 13   0 41.29    2 26.0   2.976   2.057    18   14.6  19:46 ( 88, -7)  

* 116P/Wild 4

It brightened up to 11 mag in spring and summer in 2009. Appearing in the morninig sky again. It keeps observable after this until autumn when it becomes fainter than 18 mag while fading gradually. But it locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  19  6.33  -25 28.9   3.022   2.673    60   15.0   4:24 (275, 40)  
Mar. 13  19 16.71  -25 18.9   2.965   2.697    64   15.1   4:31 (272, 45)  

* 10P/Tempel 2

Now it is 17.8 mag (Feb. 17, Hidetaka Sato). It will be getting brighter rapidly in the morning sky. It keeps observable bright as 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)  
Mar.  6  18 13.45  -13 43.3   1.918   1.869    72   15.5   4:24 (253, 45)  
Mar. 13  18 30.93  -13 36.7   1.818   1.828    74   15.1   4:31 (249, 49)  

* 94P/Russell 4

Now it is 15.9 mag (Feb. 12, Hidetaka Sato). It was expected to be observable at 15 mag in good condition from winter to spring. But actually, it had been much fainter than expected until January. However, it is brightening very rapidly in February.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  10 17.10   22 12.5   1.289   2.246   159   15.1  23:20 (180, 33)  
Mar. 13  10 12.96   22 23.4   1.312   2.243   152   15.1  22:48 (180, 33)  

* 30P/Reinmuth 1

Now it is 13.3 mag, already visible visually (Feb. 3, Marco Goiato). It will be observable at 15 mag in good condition in winter and spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   5 24.31   21 53.9   1.540   1.925    96   15.1  19:57 (156, 29)  
Mar. 13   5 35.61   22 37.1   1.597   1.913    92   15.2  19:46 (155, 28)  

* C/2009 U3 ( Hill )

Now it is 14.9 mag (Feb. 20, Ken-ichi Kadota). It has a very faint large coma. It was observed so bright as 13.5 mag in January (Jan. 16, Michael Jager).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   1 18.21   58  0.7   1.439   1.429    69   15.3  19:57 (144,-26)  
Mar. 13   1 32.52   61 18.0   1.439   1.418    68   15.3  19:46 (148,-28)  

* C/2006 S3 ( LONEOS )

It will be observable at 12-13 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2012. It is getting higher gradually after this. In 2010, it is observable at 14 mag in good condition from spring to autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  21 53.54   -0 21.9   8.556   7.624    18   15.5   4:24 (275, -7)  
Mar. 13  21 55.13   -0  8.4   8.484   7.589    24   15.4   4:31 (270,  0)  

* 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh

Now it is 15.5 mag (Feb. 14, E. Bryssinck, S. Farmer, Jr., P. Camilleri, S. Plaksa). It was observed as 15-16 mag in early 2009. In 2010, it will be observable at 16 mag in good condition from winter to spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  13 59.72   -4 30.3   2.865   3.637   135   15.5   3:06 (180, 60)  
Mar. 13  13 57.85   -4 14.2   2.802   3.642   142   15.5   2:37 (180, 59)  

* P/2010 A5 ( LINEAR )

Now it is 16.3 mag (Feb. 19, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be bright as 14-15 mag in spring. It keeps observable for a long time until September when it becomes fainter than 18 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  15  3.58  -26 36.3   1.125   1.776   113   15.7   4:10 (180, 82)  
Mar. 13  15 15.99  -27 43.0   1.058   1.757   117   15.6   3:55 (180, 83)  

* C/2008 N1 ( Holmes )

Now it is 16.6 mag (Feb. 18, Ken-ichi Kadota), a bit fainter than this ephemeris. It will be observable at 16 mag in good condition until spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  14 48.76   27  9.6   2.581   3.229   122   15.6   3:55 (180, 28)  
Mar. 13  14 33.71   28  2.9   2.537   3.265   129   15.7   3:13 (180, 27)  

* C/2008 FK75 ( Lemmon-Siding Spring )

Now it is 15.5 mag (Feb. 20, S. Plaksa, E. Bryssinck). It keeps observable at 15 mag for a long time in 2010.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  17 46.61   19 34.2   4.842   4.811    82   15.7   4:24 (219, 25)  
Mar. 13  17 50.93   21  4.2   4.748   4.792    86   15.7   4:31 (211, 27)  

* 157P/Tritton

Now it is 15.4 mag (Feb. 14, C. Rinner, F. Kugel). It brightened up to 11 mag in outburst in 2003. However, it does not seem to be so bright in this apparition. It seems to be 16 mag at best.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   3 32.91   21 53.9   1.318   1.369    71   15.7  19:57 (133, 16)  
Mar. 13   3 59.00   22 31.7   1.354   1.380    70   15.8  19:46 (135, 17)  

* C/2006 OF2 ( Broughton )

It brightned up to 10 mag from late 2008 to early 2009. Now it is fading. But it is still bright as 15.8 mag (Feb. 16, Catalina Sky Survey). It keeps observable in good condition at 16 mag for a while.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   9 50.88    3 35.8   4.855   5.803   161   15.8  22:54 (180, 51)  
Mar. 13   9 47.49    3 42.9   4.947   5.857   154   15.9  22:23 (180, 51)  

* 217P/2009 F3 ( LINEAR )

It reached up to 8.5 mag on Oct. 15 (Toru Yusa). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.6 mag (Feb. 20, P. Bacci). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition for a long time until spring when it becomes fainter than 18 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   5 57.03   19 59.5   1.923   2.369   104   16.2  19:57 (164, 33)  
Mar. 13   6  4.58   20 35.5   2.064   2.426    98   16.5  19:46 (162, 32)  

* C/2005 L3 ( McNaught )

It brightened up to 13 mag and observed visually from 2007 to 2009. Due to the far distance, it is bright as 14.9 mag still now (Jan. 15, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be observable in good condition again until spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  12 52.74   40 50.9   7.070   7.831   137   16.2   2:00 (180, 14)  
Mar. 13  12 46.21   41 28.6   7.095   7.863   138   16.2   1:26 (180, 14)  

* C/2008 Q3 ( Garradd )

It brightened up to 6.7 mag in 2009 June (June 9, Marco Goiato). Now it is 15.3 mag (Feb. 16, Hidetaka Sato). It will be fading after this, and keeps observable until spring when it becomes fainter than 18 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  11 57.45   54 43.6   2.799   3.519   130   16.2   1:05 (180,  0)  
Mar. 13  11 35.26   56 14.1   2.897   3.583   126   16.4   0:16 (180, -1)  

* 169P/NEAT

It became very bright and observed visually as 9.2 mag (Nov. 18, Juan Jose Gonzalez) and 11.6 mag (Dec. 7, Chris Wyatt) until around the perihelion passage. In January, it approached to the earth down to 0.2 A.U. But it is fading rapidly now. Now it is 15.9 mag (Feb. 19, Yasukazu Ikari). It will be fainter than 18 mag in March.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   8 41.15    6 49.6   0.718   1.630   144   16.7  21:45 (180, 48)  
Mar. 13   8 43.50    8 47.8   0.836   1.709   137   17.2  21:20 (180, 46)  

* P/2009 T2 ( La Sagra )

It brightened very rapidly, and reached up to 14.8 mag and became visible visually in December (Dec. 4, Juan Jose Gonzalez). But it is fading rapidly now. It has already faded down to 16.5 mag (Feb. 7, L. Buzzi). It will be fainter than 18 mag in late March.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   4 18.93   -5  2.6   1.784   1.851    77   16.8  19:57 (121, 44)  
Mar. 13   4 34.85   -4 22.9   1.857   1.878    75   17.1  19:46 (122, 43)  

* P/2010 A3 ( Hill )

Now it is 16.4 mag (Feb. 13, Catalina Sky Survey). It keeps observable at 17 mag in good condition for a while. It will be fainter than 18 mag in June.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   3 18.48   24  7.7   1.738   1.655    68   16.9  19:57 (132, 12)  
Mar. 13   3 36.44   25 57.6   1.772   1.641    65   16.9  19:46 (133, 11)  

* C/2007 N3 ( Lulin )

It passed near by the earth in late February in 2009, and it reached up to 4.9 mag (Feb. 23, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is 16.8 mag (Jan. 23, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be low in the evening sky at 17-18 mag in spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   4 27.77   20  8.2   5.242   5.219    83   17.0  19:57 (142, 25)  
Mar. 13   4 27.60   20 10.0   5.432   5.285    76   17.1  19:46 (139, 23)  

* 203P/2008 R4 ( Korlevic )

Now it is 16.3 mag (Jan. 23, Ken-ichi Kadota). This comet tends to brighten after the perihelion passage. It will be observable at 16 mag in 2010 and 2011. It is brighter than this ephemeris recently.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   4 41.99   23 18.4   3.079   3.185    86   17.1  19:57 (147, 24)  
Mar. 13   4 48.72   23 24.2   3.178   3.187    81   17.2  19:46 (145, 23)  

* C/2010 B1 ( Cardinal )

Now it is 17.6 mag (Jan. 31, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable at 17 mag until spring. It will reach up to 14 mag and will be observable in good condition in the next winter.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   6  4.42   64 22.2   4.075   4.384   101   17.3  19:57 (175,-10)  
Mar. 13   5 59.06   62 23.8   4.120   4.338    95   17.2  19:46 (172, -8)  

* C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught )

Now it is 17.1 mag (Jan. 27, Hidetaka Sato). It will be fainter than 18 mag in April.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6  18 47.93   32  7.4   6.540   6.303    71   17.8   4:24 (223,  7)  
Mar. 13  18 51.46   33  1.9   6.537   6.354    75   17.8   4:31 (217, 10)  

* P/2004 F3 ( NEAT )

New periodic comet which brightened up to 14 mag in 2004 and 2005. It should be observable at 18 mag also around the aphelion. However, no observations have been reported since 2008 January. It seems to have faded out rapidly. Now it is fainter than 20.4 mag actually (Sept. 16, Leonid Elenin).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Mar.  6   6 16.32   31  8.9   4.502   4.903   108   20.2  19:57 (171, 23)  
Mar. 13   6 16.89   31  6.6   4.600   4.894   101   20.2  19:46 (168, 23)  

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