Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2010 June 12: South)

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Updated on July 4, 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 R1 ( McNaught )

Brightened rapidly, and it reached to 5 mag in early June (June 5, Yoshimi Nagai). It will approach to the sun down to 0.4 A.U. in July, and it was expected to reach up to 2-3 mag. However, its brightening has stopped after that. Now it is 5.4 mag (June 15, Juan Jose Gonzalez). In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable only until late June.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12   3  5.00   45 37.0   1.143   0.667    35    5.1   5:34 (219, -8)  
June 19   4 40.59   48 14.3   1.143   0.542    28    5.0   5:36 (224,-19)  

* C/2009 K5 ( McNaught )

It brightened up to 7.9 mag in April and May (May 5, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. But it is still bright as 8.6 mag (June 11, Carlos Labordena). It keeps observable for a long time until when it fades out in the Northern Hemisphere. It will be visible visually until autumn, although it will be low in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12   6 50.95   71  9.0   1.997   1.550    49    9.4  18:25 (159,-28)  
June 19   7  8.94   67 58.6   2.115   1.591    46    9.7  18:26 (156,-27)  

* 10P/Tempel 2

Brightening rapidly. It is already so bright as 10.3 mag (June 6, Marco Goiato). It keeps observable bright as 9-10 mag for a long time until autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  22 49.81   -7 11.7   0.868   1.443    99    9.9   5:29 (180, 62)  
June 19  23 11.00   -6 55.3   0.828   1.433   101    9.7   5:23 (180, 62)  

* 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 11.5 mag (May 23, Marco Goiato). In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is only observable in the low sky. It will be getting lower gradually, then it will never be observable again.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  19 28.18  -42  1.5   3.579   4.468   147   11.6   2:09 (  0, 83)  
June 19  19 15.75  -43 25.9   3.582   4.512   153   11.7   1:29 (  0, 82)  

* 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, but it is not observable.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12   4 43.11   22 53.7   2.372   1.376     8   11.7   5:34 (249,-11)  
June 19   5  8.80   22 40.9   2.358   1.365     9   11.7   5:36 (249,-10)  

* 81P/Wild 2

It reached up to 9.2 mag in March (Mar. 20, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading, but still bright as 10.5 mag (June 5, Marco Goiato). It keeps observable in a good condition for a long time. 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)  
June 12  14 10.83   -7 11.2   1.081   1.915   131   11.9  20:48 (180, 62)  
June 19  14 15.73   -8  0.2   1.165   1.951   126   12.2  20:26 (180, 63)  

* 141P/Machholz 2

Chris Wyatt reported it was visible visually at 11.3 mag on Apr. 25. But no other observations have been reported. The condition of this apparition is very bad. It will never be observable after this.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12   4 42.39   22 45.2   1.780   0.791     8   12.1   5:34 (249,-10)  
June 19   5 20.61   22 25.9   1.833   0.832     6   12.3   5:36 (251,-12)  

* 2P/Encke

It passes the perihelion in August. But the condition of this apparition is bad. It is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it appears in the evening sky at 9 mag in late August, then it will keep observable while fading rapidly.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12   3 29.63   25 13.9   2.049   1.210    25   13.4   5:34 (238,  1)  
June 19   3 57.66   26 41.3   1.930   1.101    25   12.3   5:36 (236,  1)  

* 65P/Gunn

Now it is 12.6 mag (June 12, Marco Goiato). It will keep 12-13 mag until autumn. But it locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  21 14.54  -27 10.4   1.772   2.520   127   12.9   3:55 (180, 82)  
June 19  21 15.57  -27 51.8   1.721   2.531   133   12.8   3:28 (180, 83)  

* C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring )

It brightened up to 9.5 mag in January (Jan. 13, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading rapidly. But it is still bright as 12.3 mag (June 4, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be observable in good condition for a long time after this in the Northern Hemisphere. It keeps visible visually until summer. In mid March, the nuclear fragmentation was observed.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  14 34.03   60 41.9   3.377   3.521    89   13.6  21:11 (180, -6)  
June 19  14 33.72   59 32.0   3.465   3.576    87   13.8  20:43 (180, -4)  

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

Great outburst up to 11 mag occured on Feb. 2. Another new minor outburst occured on Apr. 16 (Albert Sanchez Caso). It is bright as 11.8 mag still now (June 3, Juan Jose Gonzalez).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12   9 31.39   11 57.9   6.651   6.215    60   14.1  18:25 (139, 33)  
June 19   9 34.98   11 38.5   6.746   6.216    54   14.1  18:26 (133, 30)  

* P/2010 H2 ( Vales )

Bright new comet discovered as a bright stellar object of 12.5 mag on Apr. 16. It was not detected, fainter than 20 mag, on the previous day (Apr. 15, Catalina Sky Survey). It was discovered just after the sudden outburst. It is bright as 12.0 mag still now (June 6, Jose Guilherme S. Aguiar), but it looks diffuse. It has faded down to 14.3 mag by CCD observations (June 3, Ken-ichi Kadota).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  13 15.03    1 49.1   2.562   3.136   115   14.9  19:52 (180, 53)  
June 19  13 16.03    1  1.5   2.652   3.140   109   15.3  19:26 (180, 54)  

* P/2010 A5 ( LINEAR )

Now it is visible visually at 14.3 mag (May 21, Alan Hale). 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)  
June 12  16 11.31  -26 25.2   0.806   1.804   164   15.1  22:48 (180, 81)  
June 19  16 12.44  -25 33.2   0.847   1.829   157   15.3  22:22 (180, 81)  

* C/2008 FK75 ( Lemmon-Siding Spring )

Now it is 15.6 mag (June 7, Toni Scarmato). It is also visible visually at 14.5 mag (Apr. 10, Juan Jose Gonzalez). 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)  
June 12  17 49.75   40 23.4   4.059   4.597   116   15.2   0:30 (180, 15)  
June 19  17 45.78   41  8.3   4.057   4.586   115   15.2  23:54 (180, 14)  

* C/2009 F4 ( McNaught )

Now it is 15.5 mag (May 14, Richard Brown). It keeps bright as 14-15 mag for a long time after this until 2013. It is observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. However, it is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  14 46.95  -48 23.3   6.008   6.824   140   15.2  21:24 (  0, 77)  
June 19  14 41.24  -48 20.1   6.032   6.795   135   15.2  20:51 (  0, 77)  

* C/2009 P1 ( Garradd )

Now it is 15.6 mag (June 8, Robert McNaught). It is expected to keep so bright as 6-8 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2012, and to be observable in good condition in the Northern Hemisphere. In 2010, it is observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere while brightening slowly. It locates low in the Northern Hemisphere, but it keeps observable until the end of 2010.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  23 58.47  -32 17.9   6.126   6.289    94   15.4   5:34 (263, 76)  
June 19  23 58.17  -32 37.1   5.963   6.230   100   15.3   5:36 (253, 82)  

* C/2006 S3 ( LONEOS )

Now it is 15.7 mag (June 14, Catalina Sky Survey). It will be observable at 13-14 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2012. In 2010, it is observable at 15-16 mag in good condition from spring to autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  21 50.17    2 11.8   6.732   7.138   109   15.5   4:30 (180, 53)  
June 19  21 46.65    2 10.4   6.587   7.104   116   15.5   3:59 (180, 53)  

* 126P/IRAS

It had been unobservable for a while, but it is getting observable in the morning sky now. Now it is 16.1 mag (June 3, Francois Kugel). It keeps observable after this while fading gradually.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12   2 56.18   42 20.0   2.816   2.074    35   15.5   5:34 (220, -5)  
June 19   3 13.45   44 51.5   2.819   2.115    38   15.6   5:36 (217, -5)  

* 103P/Hartley 2

Brightening rapidly. Now it is 16.6 mag (June 14, C. Rinner, F. Kugel). This apparition is best condition. It will approach to the earth down to 0.12 A.U. in October, and brighten up to 5 mag. It will be visible with naked eyes. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable all through this apparition until 2011 June when it fades down to 17 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  21 45.55    6 40.9   1.443   2.012   108   16.3   4:25 (180, 48)  
June 19  21 52.71    8 40.7   1.322   1.950   112   15.9   4:05 (180, 46)  

* 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh

Now it is 16.0 mag (June 12, Toshiyuki Takahashi). It was observed as 15-16 mag in early 2009. In 2010, it was also observed at 16 mag in good condition from winter to spring. But it will be getting lower in the evening sky after this. It will be too low to observe in August.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  13 18.08   -2 17.3   3.132   3.718   117   15.9  19:55 (180, 57)  
June 19  13 18.66   -2 37.3   3.229   3.725   111   16.0  19:29 (180, 58)  

* 94P/Russell 4

It reached up to 15.0 mag in March (Mar. 8, D. Storey). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.3 mag (June 7, Catalina Sky Survey). It will be too low to observe in July at 17 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  11  5.70   11 59.0   2.206   2.298    82   16.6  18:25 (166, 42)  
June 19  11 15.43   10 38.1   2.292   2.309    78   16.7  18:26 (160, 42)  

* 116P/Wild 4

It brightened up to 11 mag in spring and summer in 2009. Appearing in the morninig sky again. Now it is 16.4 mag (May 1, Ken-ichi Kadota). 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)  
June 12  20  7.76  -25 21.5   2.169   3.033   141   16.6   2:48 (180, 80)  
June 19  20  3.77  -25 40.2   2.140   3.059   149   16.6   2:17 (180, 81)  

* C/2009 U3 ( Hill )

Now it is 15.6 mag (June 3, Hidetaka Sato). Now it is fading rapidly, but it is much brighter than this ephemeris. It has a very faint large coma.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  11 43.63   41  6.9   1.735   1.839    79   16.8  18:25 (179, 14)  
June 19  11 56.88   36  1.9   1.831   1.900    77   17.1  18:26 (176, 19)  

* 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 15.8 mag still now (June 12, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be getting lower in the evening sky after this, and it will be too low to observe in August. However, it will be observable in good condition again at 17.5 mag in autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  11 38.91   40 43.2   8.437   8.295    78   16.9  18:25 (178, 14)  
June 19  11 37.33   40 14.1   8.569   8.329    72   16.9  18:26 (172, 14)  

* P/2010 J3 ( McMillan )

Now it is 17.2 mag (May 16, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps 17 mag for a while after this.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  15 20.21   -2 58.9   1.649   2.546   144   16.9  21:57 (180, 58)  
June 19  15 18.45   -3 47.4   1.676   2.530   138   17.0  21:28 (180, 59)  

* C/2010 J2 ( McNaught )

Now it is 17.2 mag (May 19, Hidetaka Sato). It will be observable at 17 mag in good condition in summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  21 35.10   -7 43.1   2.803   3.388   117   17.0   4:15 (180, 63)  
June 19  21 23.69   -6 42.3   2.693   3.390   125   17.0   3:37 (180, 62)  

* C/2009 K2 ( Catalina )

Now it is 17.8 mag (June 13, Catalina Sky Survey). It will reach up to 17 mag in spring and summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  21  9.77  -11 42.9   2.778   3.454   124   17.1   3:50 (180, 67)  
June 19  21  7.98  -13 30.7   2.714   3.477   132   17.1   3:21 (180, 68)  

* C/2010 J1 ( Boattini )

It was bright as 15 mag in early May at the discovery. But it is fading rapidly. It has already faded down to 17.2 mag (June 7, P. C. Sherrod). It will be fainter than 18 mag in late June.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  14 21.28   24  5.2   1.692   2.323   115   17.3  20:57 (180, 31)  
June 19  14  5.52   24 40.2   1.867   2.380   107   17.6  20:14 (180, 30)  

* C/2007 VO53 ( Spacewatch )

Now it is 17.2 mag (June 2, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable at 17.5 mag in good condition for a long time in 2010.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  21 18.86   85 15.0   5.121   4.856    69   17.4   3:59 (180,-30)  
June 19  19 47.74   85 52.0   5.110   4.861    70   17.4   2:02 (180,-31)  

* C/2009 UG89 ( Lemmon )

Now it is 17.0 mag (June 9, Yasukazu Ikari). It keeps observable at 17-18 mag for a long time until 2011 summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  20 34.12    7 54.9   3.609   4.252   123   17.7   3:15 (180, 47)  
June 19  20 24.45    8 58.1   3.503   4.230   130   17.6   2:37 (180, 46)  

* C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught )

Now it is 17.7 mag (June 4, P. Bacci). It will be fainter than 18 mag in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 12  18 46.83   43  7.2   6.584   7.009   110   17.7   1:27 (180, 12)  
June 19  18 43.22   43 21.6   6.614   7.059   112   17.7   0:56 (180, 12)  

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