Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2010 June 19: 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 5.5 mag (June 18, 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 19   4 40.59   48 14.3   1.143   0.542    28    5.0   5:36 (224,-19)  
June 26   6 14.53   44 16.4   1.204   0.443    20    5.0   5:37 (233,-27)  

* 10P/Tempel 2

Brightened rapidly. Now it is so bright as 9.1 mag (June 18, Juan Jose Gonzalez). 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 19  23 11.00   -6 55.3   0.828   1.433   101    9.7   5:23 (180, 62)  
June 26  23 31.80   -6 48.4   0.793   1.426   103    9.5   5:16 (180, 62)  

* 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 8.5 mag (June 18, Juan Jose Gonzalez). 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 19   7  8.94   67 58.6   2.115   1.591    46    9.7  18:26 (156,-27)  
June 26   7 22.16   65 13.1   2.225   1.638    43    9.9  18:27 (152,-28)  

* 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 19   3 57.66   26 41.3   1.930   1.101    25   12.3   5:36 (236,  1)  
June 26   4 29.89   27 54.8   1.814   0.988    24   11.6   5:37 (236, -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, but it is not observable.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 19   5  8.80   22 40.9   2.358   1.365     9   11.7   5:36 (249,-10)  
June 26   5 34.47   22 12.3   2.348   1.359    10   11.6   5:37 (249, -9)  

* 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 (June 19, 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 19  19 15.75  -43 25.9   3.582   4.512   153   11.7   1:29 (  0, 82)  
June 26  19  2.43  -44 40.2   3.605   4.557   156   11.8   0:49 (  0, 80)  

* 81P/Wild 2

It reached up to 9.2 mag in March (Mar. 20, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading, but still bright as 11.4 mag (June 16, 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 19  14 15.73   -8  0.2   1.165   1.951   126   12.2  20:26 (180, 63)  
June 26  14 21.62   -8 52.6   1.254   1.987   121   12.4  20:04 (180, 64)  

* 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 19   5 20.61   22 25.9   1.833   0.832     6   12.3   5:36 (251,-12)  
June 26   5 56.42   21 37.5   1.892   0.885     5   12.8   5:37 (252,-13)  

* 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 19  21 15.57  -27 51.8   1.721   2.531   133   12.8   3:28 (180, 83)  
June 26  21 15.21  -28 37.7   1.678   2.542   140   12.8   3:00 (180, 84)  

* 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 19  14 33.72   59 32.0   3.465   3.576    87   13.8  20:43 (180, -4)  
June 26  14 34.61   58 15.9   3.554   3.631    86   14.0  20:17 (180, -3)  

* 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 19   9 34.98   11 38.5   6.746   6.216    54   14.1  18:26 (133, 30)  
June 26   9 38.83   11 17.4   6.835   6.217    49   14.1  18:27 (128, 26)  

* 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 19  17 45.78   41  8.3   4.057   4.586   115   15.2  23:54 (180, 14)  
June 26  17 41.76   41 42.0   4.062   4.577   114   15.1  23:23 (180, 13)  

* 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 19  14 41.24  -48 20.1   6.032   6.795   135   15.2  20:51 (  0, 77)  
June 26  14 36.14  -48 14.3   6.068   6.766   129   15.2  20:18 (  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 19  23 58.17  -32 37.1   5.963   6.230   100   15.3   5:36 (253, 82)  
June 26  23 57.26  -33  0.3   5.803   6.171   106   15.2   5:37 (204, 88)  

* 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 19  16 12.44  -25 33.2   0.847   1.829   157   15.3  22:22 (180, 81)  
June 26  16 14.69  -24 46.3   0.896   1.856   151   15.4  21:57 (180, 80)  

* 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 19  13 16.03    1  1.5   2.652   3.140   109   15.3  19:26 (180, 54)  
June 26  13 17.93    0 10.2   2.745   3.144   103   15.7  19:00 (180, 55)  

* 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 19  21 52.71    8 40.7   1.322   1.950   112   15.9   4:05 (180, 46)  
June 26  21 59.50   10 47.6   1.207   1.888   116   15.4   3:44 (180, 44)  

* 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 19  21 46.65    2 10.4   6.587   7.104   116   15.5   3:59 (180, 53)  
June 26  21 42.58    2  5.7   6.450   7.070   124   15.4   3:28 (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 19   3 13.45   44 51.5   2.819   2.115    38   15.6   5:36 (217, -5)  
June 26   3 31.36   47 15.9   2.821   2.157    40   15.8   5:37 (214, -6)  

* 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 19  13 18.66   -2 37.3   3.229   3.725   111   16.0  19:29 (180, 58)  
June 26  13 20.01   -3  1.5   3.331   3.731   105   16.0  19:02 (180, 58)  

* 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 19  20  3.77  -25 40.2   2.140   3.059   149   16.6   2:17 (180, 81)  
June 26  19 58.86  -25 59.4   2.123   3.085   157   16.7   1:44 (180, 81)  

* C/2010 J2 ( McNaught )

Now it is 16.7 mag (June 13, 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 19  21 23.69   -6 42.3   2.693   3.390   125   17.0   3:37 (180, 62)  
June 26  21 10.55   -5 41.5   2.598   3.393   134   16.9   2:56 (180, 61)  

* 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 19  11 37.33   40 14.1   8.569   8.329    72   16.9  18:26 (172, 14)  
June 26  11 36.25   39 44.3   8.698   8.362    67   17.0  18:27 (167, 14)  

* P/2010 J3 ( McMillan )

Now it is 16.7 mag (June 20, F. Garcia). It keeps 17 mag for a while after this.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 19  15 18.45   -3 47.4   1.676   2.530   138   17.0  21:28 (180, 59)  
June 26  15 17.75   -4 43.3   1.712   2.515   132   17.0  21:00 (180, 60)  

* C/2009 U3 ( Hill )

It had been observed bright as 13-14 mag from January to May. But it is fading rapidly now. It was still bright as 15.6 mag on June 3 (Hidetaka Sato). But it will be fainter than 18 mag soon.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 19  11 56.88   36  1.9   1.831   1.900    77   17.1  18:26 (176, 19)  
June 26  12  8.85   31 17.3   1.939   1.963    76   17.4  18:27 (172, 24)  

* 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 19  19 47.74   85 52.0   5.110   4.861    70   17.4   2:02 (180,-31)  
June 26  18  5.56   85 33.3   5.100   4.866    71   17.4  23:36 (180,-30)  

* 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 19  20 24.45    8 58.1   3.503   4.230   130   17.6   2:37 (180, 46)  
June 26  20 13.64    9 56.9   3.414   4.208   136   17.5   1:59 (180, 45)  

* 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 soon.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 19  14  5.52   24 40.2   1.867   2.380   107   17.6  20:14 (180, 30)  
June 26  13 53.66   24 52.4   2.049   2.438    99   17.9  19:35 (180, 30)  

* 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 19  18 43.22   43 21.6   6.614   7.059   112   17.7   0:56 (180, 12)  
June 26  18 39.48   43 29.0   6.651   7.109   112   17.8   0:25 (180, 12)  

* 236P/2010 K1 ( LINEAR )

Now it is 18.8 mag (May 18, Hidetaka Sato). It returned as bright as expected. It will reach up to 16 mag from August to November, and will be observable in good condition.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
June 19  23 26.06   16 39.8   1.717   1.972    88   18.1   5:36 (181, 38)  
June 26  23 37.40   18 49.1   1.639   1.951    91   17.9   5:22 (180, 36)  

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