Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2011 Dec. 24: North)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on December 27, 2011
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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.

C/2011 W3 ( Lovejoy ) New Kreutz sungrazer comet discovered on the ground after 41-year blank since Comet C/1970 K1 (White-Ortiz-Bolelli). It approached nearly to the surface of the Sun on Dec. 16, and reached -4 mag or brighter at best. Then it appeared in the morning sky in the Southern Hemisphere, and it became a great comet with a bright long tail. The head of the comet is not intense, but the tail is very bright and easy to see with naked eyes over 20 degrees long. Now it is 4.8 mag (Dec. 24, David Seargent). In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be getting higher rapidly but fading rapidly after this. It is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 16 59.02 -40 0.4 0.682 0.434 21 4.7 5:34 (309,-14) Dec. 31 16 56.41 -58 44.7 0.552 0.663 39 7.0 5:37 (328,-20) C/2009 P1 ( Garradd ) Now it is 6.8 mag (Dec. 22, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps so bright as 6-8 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2012. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be extremely low from late November to late December. But after that, it will be observable in excellent condition again. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable now. But it will be observable again in 2012 spring, although it locates low. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 17 30.38 24 40.7 2.008 1.551 48 6.1 5:34 (251, 16) Dec. 31 17 30.18 26 32.4 1.946 1.554 52 6.1 5:37 (253, 23) 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Now it is very bright as 9.3 mag (Dec. 22, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will keep 10 mag until March, but it will be too low to observe. It is already unobservable in the Southern Hemisphere. It is getting lower in the evening sky also in the Northern Hemisphere. It will be lower than 10 degrees in early January. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 19 40.99 -4 26.2 1.998 1.241 29 11.9 18:24 ( 76, 11) Dec. 31 20 6.93 -4 38.6 1.962 1.191 28 11.6 18:28 ( 77, 10) C/2011 Q2 ( McNaught ) It was observed as bright as 13.9 mag in 2011 autumn (Oct. 19, Hidetaka Sato). It is not observable now. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be observable again in 2012 summer, when it will be fainter than 15 mag. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 19 8.62 -18 21.3 2.332 1.406 15 12.0 18:24 ( 70, -3) Dec. 31 19 30.58 -15 37.1 2.311 1.381 14 11.9 18:28 ( 74, -4) 78P/Gehrels 2 Now it is very bright as 10.5 mag (Dec. 22, Juan Jose Gonzalez). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable at 11-12 mag in good condition until March, but it will be unobservable in April. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be low in the evening sky after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 0 22.50 1 48.1 1.688 2.015 94 12.0 18:24 ( 5, 57) Dec. 31 0 33.18 2 34.8 1.757 2.011 89 12.1 18:28 ( 15, 57) C/2010 G2 ( Hill ) Now it is 9.9 mag (Dec. 22, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will start fading after December. But it keeps observable in excellent condition until February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable until 2012 spring when it fades down to 15-16 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 3 16.49 7 54.2 1.583 2.392 136 12.4 21:05 ( 0, 63) Dec. 31 3 6.66 4 33.0 1.730 2.438 125 12.8 20:28 ( 0, 59) 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak It is not observable at all due to the bad condition in this apparition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 17 14.62 -18 6.1 2.125 1.190 13 12.9 5:34 (289, -5) Dec. 31 17 41.54 -18 34.0 2.166 1.235 13 13.4 5:37 (290, -4) 71P/Clark It brightened up to 17.1 mag in late June (June 24, J. F. Hernandez). The condition of this apparition is bad, and it is not observable around the perihelion passage. It will appear in the morning sky at 14 mag in 2012 April in the Southern Hemisphere. It will not be observable until 2012 June in the Northern Hemisphere, when the comet will be 15.5 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 18 11.14 -26 38.8 2.550 1.569 3 13.2 18:24 ( 70,-19) Dec. 31 18 35.20 -26 47.3 2.554 1.574 3 13.2 5:37 (290,-19) C/2009 F4 ( McNaught ) Now it is bright as 13.3 mag (Dec. 6, Hidetaka Sato). It keeps bright as 13-14 mag for a long time after this until 2013. It is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere, but it is observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 22 47.00 -87 31.7 5.785 5.455 65 13.5 18:24 ( 1,-33) Dec. 31 23 53.77 -85 59.8 5.778 5.455 66 13.5 18:28 ( 1,-31) C/2011 A3 ( Gibbs ) It brightened up to 14.1 mag in August and September (Aug. 11, Artyom Novichonok and Vladimir Gerke). Now it is not observable. It will appear in the morning sky at 14 mag at the end of February. Then it will be observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere while fading gradually. It will locate somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere. In 2011, some visual observers reported it was very bright as 10-12 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 18 7.57 -12 55.2 3.307 2.347 10 13.7 5:34 (277,-12) Dec. 31 18 23.66 -13 31.1 3.312 2.351 10 13.7 5:37 (280,-10) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Appearing in the morning sky. Now it is bright as 14.1 mag but very diffuse (Nov. 26, Toshiyuki Takahashi). Juan Jose Gonzalez reported a very faint large coma, remnant of an old outburst, is visible with a total brightness of 10.3 mag on Dec. 7. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 12 35.87 -11 43.1 6.377 6.262 78 14.0 5:34 (342, 42) Dec. 31 12 37.73 -12 6.3 6.264 6.262 85 14.0 5:37 (352, 42) 49P/Arend-Rigaux It reached up to 11-12 mag in 2011 autumn. Now it is fading, but still bright as 12.8 mag and visible visually (Dec. 3, Marco Goiato). It keeps observable in good condition until May when it becomes fainter than 18 mag. It locates somewhat low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 11 47.94 10 3.0 1.124 1.597 98 14.0 5:34 (357, 65) Dec. 31 11 59.95 11 10.1 1.099 1.632 103 14.2 5:24 ( 0, 66) (596) Scheila Big asteroid discovered in 1906. It suddenly showed the cometary activity on Dec. 11, 2010, probably due to an impact of a small object. It was very bright as 11.5 mag visually (Dec. 17, 2010, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It had a dust coma still on Jan. 9, 2011 (Joseph Brimacombe). Then it turned to be stellar at 13.8 mag (Apr. 5, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Appearing in the morning sky in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 14 57.50 -8 11.0 3.081 2.528 47 14.3 5:34 (303, 27) Dec. 31 15 8.81 -9 6.2 3.006 2.521 51 14.2 5:37 (308, 29) C/2006 S3 ( LONEOS ) Now it is 14.3 mag and visible visually (Oct. 1, Jakub Cerny). It will be observable at 13-14 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2012. However, it will be unobservable temporarily from November to January. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 18 4.53 -14 1.4 6.172 5.204 9 14.3 5:34 (278,-13) Dec. 31 18 6.40 -14 6.5 6.154 5.196 11 14.3 5:37 (282, -7) C/2010 M1 ( Gibbs ) It was expected to keep 14-15 mag for a long time from 2011 summer to 2012 summer. However, it is lost. It was observed only during two days in 2010 June. So the orbital elements are extremely uncertain. The condition is good in the Southern Hemisphere. But in the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable until 2012 August. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 19 19.29 -69 55.8 2.903 2.357 47 14.5 18:24 ( 22,-29) Dec. 31 20 1.35 -70 38.7 2.864 2.340 49 14.5 18:28 ( 21,-28) 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 It brightened up to 12.3 mag around the perihelion passage, although it located very low (Oct. 19, Hidetaka Sato). Now it is 13.7 mag (Dec. 6, Hidetaka Sato). The condition of this apparition is bad. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is only observable from December to February in the evening very low sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time, although it keeps locating extremely low. The component B was not detected, fainter than 20 mag, on May 14 (Hidetaka Sato). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 21 11.98 -24 33.2 1.897 1.339 42 14.7 18:24 ( 46, 14) Dec. 31 21 38.90 -22 29.2 1.980 1.404 41 15.1 18:28 ( 48, 15) C/2010 S1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is visible visually at 13.6 mag (Nov. 27, Jakub Cerny). It is expected to be 13 mag and will be observable in good condition in 2013. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 22 55.70 54 21.3 6.679 6.904 99 14.7 18:24 (146, 64) Dec. 31 22 55.07 53 19.6 6.734 6.879 94 14.7 18:28 (139, 61) C/2011 F1 ( LINEAR ) It is expected to be bright as 9 mag from 2012 to 2013. Now it is 14.9 mag (Dec. 1, P. Dupouy). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition for a long time until 2012 autumn when the comet brightens up to 10 mag. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is hardly observble before the perihelion passage. But it becomes observable in good condition since 2013 after the perihelion passage. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 14 47.19 43 53.2 4.685 4.641 81 15.0 5:34 (242, 54) Dec. 31 14 55.14 44 10.7 4.569 4.579 84 14.9 5:37 (241, 58) 37P/Forbes It brightened up to 16.6 mag on Oct. 12 (Hidetaka Sato). But it is not observable now. It will keep unobservable until it becomes fainter than 18 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 19 4.51 -24 46.4 2.523 1.581 13 15.0 18:24 ( 65, -8) Dec. 31 19 27.62 -23 41.1 2.540 1.588 11 15.0 18:28 ( 67, -9) C/2011 R1 ( McNaught ) Now it is 15.2 mag (Dec. 11, Toshiyuki Takahashi). It is expected to be observable at 13 mag for a long time from 2012 summer to 2013 summer. It will be observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. But it is not observable at brightest time in the Northern Hemisphere. It keeps observable for a while at 16 mag while brightening gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 1 14.21 -34 25.3 3.804 3.923 89 15.3 19:04 ( 0, 21) Dec. 31 1 10.03 -34 21.2 3.854 3.864 83 15.3 18:32 ( 0, 21) C/2011 Q4 ( SWAN ) New comet discovered in the spacecraft images. It was observed so bright as 9.4 mag (Sept. 22, Chris Wyatt). Appearing in the morning sky in the Northern Hemisphere. It is still bright as 13.2 mag and visible visually (Nov. 24, Seiichi Yoshida). It will be observable while fading gradually after this. In the Southern Hemisphere, further observations are very hard. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 14 28.88 15 47.2 1.970 1.812 66 15.6 5:34 (287, 48) Dec. 31 14 25.85 19 19.5 1.893 1.890 74 15.9 5:37 (289, 57) P/2006 T1 = P/2011 Y1 ( Levy ) First return of a new comet which brightened up to 9.5 mag in a major outburst in 2006. It was recovered on Dec. 17, but much fainter than expected. However, it looks very diffuse, and the total magnitude is bright as 13.5 mag (Dec. 26, Michael Jager). It will approach to the earth down to 0.24 A.U. in January, and will be observable in excellent condition. It may be visible visually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 23 28.44 24 12.1 0.354 1.053 91 16.4 18:24 ( 56, 72) Dec. 31 23 56.95 20 40.4 0.318 1.029 89 15.9 18:28 ( 50, 69) 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova It passed very near by the earth, within 0.1 A.U., and brightened up to 8.0 mag in the southern sky (Aug. 14, Willian Souza). After appearing in the morning sky in late September, it brightened up to 6.6 mag (Sept. 25, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 15.7 mag (Dec. 11, Ken-ichi Kadota). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 13 47.78 -6 59.8 1.742 1.584 64 16.2 5:34 (319, 39) Dec. 31 13 55.53 -7 28.9 1.743 1.672 69 16.6 5:37 (325, 41) 246P/2010 V2 ( NEAT ) Now it is bright as 16.2 mag (Dec. 13, V. Gerke, S. Plaksa, A. Novichonok). Although it was extremely faint as 20.5 mag at the recovery in 2010 autumn, it brightened rapidly. It will keep 15 mag and observable in good condition for a long time from 2012 to 2013. But it locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere in 2013. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 13 10.00 9 33.0 3.558 3.518 79 16.4 5:34 (317, 58) Dec. 31 13 15.81 9 23.4 3.443 3.500 85 16.3 5:37 (327, 61) 213P/2009 B3 ( Van Ness ) First return of a new periodic comet which brightened up to 13 mag in a major outburst in 2005. In this apparition, it brightened up to 12 mag in 2011 summer and autumn. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.8 mag (Dec. 18, Toshiyuki Takahashi). It keeps observable in good condition until February when it fades out down to 17-18 mag. Its fragments have not been observed since early October. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 23 29.26 7 22.2 2.403 2.505 84 16.4 18:24 ( 32, 59) Dec. 31 23 38.38 8 7.4 2.513 2.529 79 16.6 18:28 ( 42, 57) C/2010 FB87 ( WISE-Garradd ) Although it has passed the perihelion in 2010 November, it is uxexpectedly bright as 16.4 mag still now (Dec. 17, J. Nicolas). It keeps observable in excellent condition for a while. It will keep 16-17 mag for a while after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 6 19.79 5 57.1 3.906 4.852 162 16.5 0:13 ( 0, 61) Dec. 31 6 11.65 6 52.5 3.955 4.902 162 16.6 23:32 ( 0, 62) 65P/Gunn It became bright as 12 mag in 2010. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.2 mag (Nov. 14, V. Gerke, A. Novichonok, S. Plaksa). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 1 28.04 2 12.5 3.600 4.035 109 16.9 19:18 ( 0, 57) Dec. 31 1 28.84 2 37.4 3.720 4.051 102 16.9 18:51 ( 0, 58) C/2008 FK75 ( Lemmon-Siding Spring ) Now it is 16.2 mag (Dec. 13, V. Gerke, A. Novichonok). It will be fading very slowly after this. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time until 2012 spring when it fades down to 17-18 mag. It will not be observable in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 22 52.58 34 50.5 5.681 5.752 89 16.9 18:24 ( 97, 69) Dec. 31 22 57.84 34 5.1 5.803 5.785 84 16.9 18:28 ( 97, 64) C/2011 L2 ( McNaught ) It keeps 17 mag for a long time from 2011 summer to 2012 spring. It keeps observable all thgough the period in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable until 2012 spring when it becomes fainter than 18 mag. No observations have been reported since August. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 12 37.88 -72 59.4 2.252 2.049 65 16.9 5:34 (356,-18) Dec. 31 12 6.31 -73 59.0 2.197 2.077 69 16.9 5:31 ( 0,-19) 164P/Christensen Now it is 17.3 mag (Dec. 21, H. Mikuz). It tends to be brightest after the perihelion passage. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable at 17 mag in good condition from autumn to winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, it locates low and will be hard to observe. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 11 17.58 22 3.0 1.984 2.490 109 16.9 5:10 ( 0, 77) Dec. 31 11 20.32 22 54.1 1.942 2.530 115 16.9 4:45 ( 0, 78) P/2011 W2 ( Rinner ) Now it is 16.7 mag (Dec. 5, Hidetaka Sato), brighter than the early ephemeris. It keeps observable in good condition for a while after this. It keeps 17 mag until February. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 7 52.64 1 48.6 1.444 2.328 146 17.0 1:45 ( 0, 57) Dec. 31 7 48.45 1 7.5 1.421 2.336 152 16.9 1:14 ( 0, 56) C/2011 G1 ( McNaught ) Now it is 16.4 mag (Nov. 23, Catalina Sky Survey). It was observed at 17.5 mag in 2011 spring, when the condition was good in the Southern Hemisphere. It will be observable at 17 mag in this winter, when the condition is good in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 9 34.25 30 2.0 1.654 2.439 133 17.0 3:28 ( 0, 85) Dec. 31 9 5.06 33 53.8 1.599 2.478 146 17.0 2:31 ( 0, 89) P/2011 UA134 ( Spacewatch-PanSTARRS ) Although it was extremely faint as 21 mag at the discovery in late October, it brightened rapidly and reached up to 16.8 mag (Nov. 23, Catalina Sky Survey). It is fading slightly after that, and now it is 18.2 mag (Dec. 16, V. Gerke, A. Novichonok). It locates somewhat low in the Southern Hemisphere, but it is observable in good condition in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 4 20.09 33 54.6 1.126 2.058 154 17.1 22:09 ( 0, 89) Dec. 31 4 18.57 34 13.5 1.165 2.064 147 17.2 21:40 ( 0, 89) C/2005 L3 ( McNaught ) It brightened up to 13-14 mag and became visible visually from 2007 to 2009. Now it is fading. But it is still bright as 17.6 mag (Dec. 11, Ken-ichi Kadota). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in excellent condition until early summer in 2012. In the Southern Hemisphere, it locates extremely low only. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 10 51.79 37 29.0 10.622 11.125 118 17.1 4:44 (180, 88) Dec. 31 10 49.47 37 51.8 10.569 11.161 124 17.1 4:14 (180, 87) C/2008 S3 ( Boattini ) Now it is 17.6 mag (Dec. 11, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable at 17 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2012. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 23 27.08 11 12.4 8.127 8.109 85 17.1 18:24 ( 37, 62) Dec. 31 23 26.27 10 58.5 8.259 8.115 78 17.2 18:28 ( 49, 57) C/2011 S2 ( Kowalski ) Now it is 15.6 mag (Dec. 17, Ken-ichi Kadota), brighter than this ephemeris. Hidetaka Sato reported a small outburst occured in early December. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps locating the same altitude in the morning sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, it locates extremely low now, but it will be getting higher gradually. The ephemeris says it will be fainter than 18 mag in late January. But it may keep brighter some more time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 13 45.50 -25 57.6 1.667 1.432 58 17.2 5:34 (330, 22) Dec. 31 14 1.60 -28 17.3 1.689 1.498 61 17.4 5:37 (334, 22) 2008 YB3 Peculiar asteroid moving along a cometary orbit. Now it is 18.4 mag (Oct. 26, Hidetaka Sato). It keeps observable at 18 mag for a long time from 2008 to 2014. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 7 55.09 11 12.6 5.740 6.622 151 17.3 1:48 ( 0, 66) Dec. 31 7 50.30 11 54.5 5.698 6.628 159 17.2 1:16 ( 0, 67) C/2010 B1 ( Cardinal ) It reached up to 14 mag in 2010 autumn and winter. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.5 mag (Dec. 11, K. Hills). In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition while fading gradually. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 0 49.21 -77 8.3 4.507 4.263 69 17.2 18:38 ( 0,-22) Dec. 31 0 34.58 -75 44.0 4.591 4.309 67 17.3 18:28 ( 2,-21) C/2011 M1 ( LINEAR ) Extremely diffuse and hardly detected by CCD images. The nucleus is already fainter than 18 mag (Oct. 15, Jean-Francois Soulier). The comet can be already disintegrated. However, Juan Jose Gonzalez reported it so bright as 9.5 mag visually on Sept. 25. It is observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps locating higher than 20 degree from November to December. No observations have been reported since October. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 11 46.11 -36 25.6 1.891 1.979 80 17.2 5:34 (359, 19) Dec. 31 11 39.36 -40 17.7 1.897 2.069 85 17.4 5:04 ( 0, 15) P/2010 JC81 ( WISE ) It was revealed to be a comet when appearing in the morning sky in early August. It was visible as 13.8 mag and visible visually (Sept. 4, Sandor Szabo). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.6 mag (Dec. 23, G. Hug). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in excellent condition for a long time until 2012 summer. But it will be fainter than 18 mag in late January. It is not observable at all in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 12 3.68 51 39.5 2.636 3.095 108 17.2 5:34 (192, 73) Dec. 31 12 5.43 52 37.5 2.629 3.147 113 17.4 5:30 (180, 72) 244P/2010 Q1 ( Scotti ) Now it is 17.2 mag (Dec. 18, J. F. Hernandez). It keeps observable at 18 mag for a long time until 2013. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 5 15.72 26 3.5 2.952 3.920 168 17.3 23:05 ( 0, 81) Dec. 31 5 11.33 25 57.0 2.980 3.919 160 17.3 22:33 ( 0, 81) P/2011 N1 ( ASH ) Now it is 16.5 mag (Dec. 21, K. Hills). It keeps 17-18 mag until early 2013. It keeps observable in good condition until early 2012 in the Southern Hemisphere, although it locates low in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be observable in good condition from 2012 autumn to early 2013. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 0 33.82 -32 37.9 3.057 3.093 82 17.3 18:24 ( 0, 23) Dec. 31 0 38.31 -30 38.1 3.115 3.074 78 17.3 18:28 ( 6, 24) (3200) Phaethon Now it is 17.5 mag (Nov. 5, LINEAR). It keeps observable in good condition at 17-18 mag until March. It locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 2 3.05 28 7.0 1.247 1.986 125 17.4 19:52 ( 0, 83) Dec. 31 1 54.27 25 55.7 1.290 1.937 116 17.5 19:16 ( 0, 81) 240P/2010 P1 ( NEAT ) It had been fading after the perihelion passage in 2010 October, but it brightened again in outburst on Apr. 5, 2011. It reached up to 14.7 mag in May (May 28, Hidetaka Sato). It has been unobservable since July. But it is appearing in the morning sky now. Now it is 17.3 mag, much brighter than expected (Nov. 26, Hidetaka Sato). It locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. But in the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition after this. It will keep 17 mag for a while. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 13 31.12 14 36.0 3.752 3.665 77 17.5 5:34 (303, 58) Dec. 31 13 36.03 14 40.5 3.683 3.694 82 17.6 5:37 (312, 62) C/2011 J2 ( LINEAR ) It is expected to keep 13 mag and observable in good condition in the Northern Hemisphere for a long time from 2013 to 2014. Now it is 18.3 mag (Nov. 7, Hidetaka Sato). It keeps observable at 17-18 mag in good condition until 2012 June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 11 34.26 -3 13.8 6.924 7.099 96 17.7 5:26 ( 0, 52) Dec. 31 11 33.38 -2 54.0 6.755 7.053 103 17.6 4:58 ( 0, 52) 27P/Crommelin It has returned after 27-year blank since 1984. It brightened very rapidly, and became very bright as 9.1 mag (July 10, Tsutomu Seki). It may keep bright after the perihelion passage. It was visible in SWAN images still on Sept. 17 (Hirohisa Sato). Tsutomu Seki reported the comet is about 15 mag in early November, although he commented that confirmation is required. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 14 25.16 -33 23.1 2.870 2.349 49 17.7 5:34 (326, 12) Dec. 31 14 34.35 -34 14.0 2.879 2.432 53 18.0 5:37 (330, 13) 242P/2010 P3 ( Spahr ) Now it is 17.6 mag (Dec. 16, J. Gonzalez). It will be observable in good condition at 18 mag from autumn to winter. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 2 56.68 -14 57.6 3.428 4.007 119 17.7 20:46 ( 0, 40) Dec. 31 2 55.89 -14 39.2 3.504 4.003 113 17.8 20:18 ( 0, 40) C/2010 X1 ( Elenin ) It reached up to 8.1 mag in mid August (Aug. 19, Michael Mattiazzo). However, the nucleus has been disintegrated, and it faded out and got diffuse very rapidly. The necleus has been already fainter than 22.5 mag and unable to be detected (Oct. 23, Jakub Cerny). But the remnant of the comet, extremely large, diffuse and elongated, was detected by CCD images in late October. Juan Jose Gonzalez reported the remnant is still visible visually on Nov. 24, and the total magnitude is 9.5 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Dec. 24 3 11.39 20 56.3 1.214 2.062 139 17.9 21:01 ( 0, 76) Dec. 31 3 11.41 20 40.9 1.378 2.165 132 18.4 20:33 ( 0, 76)