Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2013 Mar. 16: North)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on March 17, 2013
Last week South Next week

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 L4 ( PanSTARRS ) It has just passed the perihelion on Mar. 10, and now it is brightest. It was observed at 0-1 mag recently. Very strongly condensed. It locates extremely low in the evening in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere for a while after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 0 34.07 9 29.4 1.148 0.351 17 1.9 19:32 (103, -1) Mar. 23 0 34.89 23 16.5 1.202 0.486 23 3.0 19:38 (119, 1) C/2012 F6 ( Lemmon ) Brightened much faster than expected, and it became a naked eye bright comet. Now it is so bright as 4.7 mag (Mar. 11, Michael Mattiazzo). It has a long ion tail. However, the brightness evolution has been slow down in February. It will approach to the sun down to 0.73 A.U. on Mar. 24. It was expected to brighten up to 3 mag, but actually, it will be 4.5 mag at best. It is observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It is not observable now in the Northern Hemisphere. But it becomes observable again in May, and it keeps observable in good condition after that while fading gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 0 9.35 -33 42.3 1.367 0.751 32 4.6 19:32 ( 68,-29) Mar. 23 0 9.97 -26 31.3 1.454 0.732 27 4.7 19:38 ( 79,-33) C/2011 F1 ( LINEAR ) It brightened up to 9.0 mag in 2012 autumn (Nov. 4, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Appearing in the morning sky in the Southern Hemisphere. It keeps observable in good condition while fading slowly after this. However, Michael Mattiazzo reported that it was fainter than 12 mag on Feb. 2, much fainter than predicted. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is hardly observable after 2013. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 22 11.94 -42 20.0 2.577 2.007 45 9.4 4:45 (307,-21) Mar. 23 22 36.95 -42 45.5 2.567 2.045 48 9.5 4:35 (307,-23) 273P/2012 V4 ( Pons-Gambart ) Long-lost comet for almost 200 years since 1827. Finally re-discovered by Rob Matson from SWAN images of mid November. Now it is 11.3 mag (Mar. 5, Jakub Cerny). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in excellent condition while fading after this. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is only observable in low sky from February to March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 17 0.91 39 38.0 1.214 1.689 99 11.7 4:45 (239, 81) Mar. 23 16 21.92 46 10.7 1.209 1.782 107 12.1 4:21 (180, 79) C/2012 L2 ( LINEAR ) Now it is so bright as 11.1 mag (Mar. 9, Carlos Labordena). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until April. It is not observable now in the Southern Hemisphere. It will become observable after April, but it keeps locating low. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 3 19.85 28 36.0 1.944 1.686 60 12.2 19:32 ( 99, 42) Mar. 23 3 35.34 25 32.2 1.990 1.646 55 12.2 19:38 ( 97, 37) C/2011 R1 ( McNaught ) Now it is bright as 12.3 mag (Mar. 9, Marco Goiato). It is expected to be observable at 11-13 mag for a long time from 2012 summer to 2013 summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 15 49.22 -12 58.8 2.092 2.695 117 12.4 4:16 ( 0, 42) Mar. 23 15 39.03 -9 40.1 2.028 2.746 126 12.4 3:38 ( 0, 45) C/2013 E2 ( Iwamoto ) New bright comet. Now it is 12.5 mag and visible visually (Mar. 15, Alan Hale). It keeps locating in the morning sky for a long time after this. I will keep the current brightness for a long time in calculation. However, if the comet is in temporary outburst, it can fade out rapidly. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 20 50.31 -1 53.2 1.954 1.405 43 12.4 4:45 (285, 17) Mar. 23 21 13.69 -0 24.2 1.961 1.419 43 12.5 4:35 (283, 17) C/2006 S3 ( LONEOS ) It brightened up to 11-12 mag in 2012. Now it is 13.3 mag (Feb. 2, Jakub Cerny). It will be observable at 12-13 mag in good condition again in 2013. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 15 7.02 -16 46.6 5.068 5.714 126 12.9 3:33 ( 0, 38) Mar. 23 15 0.18 -16 29.1 4.989 5.737 134 12.8 2:59 ( 0, 38) 246P/2010 V2 ( NEAT ) It brightened rapidly, and reached up to 12 mag in 2012. Appearing in the mornig sky again. It will be observable at 12-14 mag in good condition again in 2013. However, it locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere in 2013. By the way, Juan Jose Gonzalez reported it is extremely bright as 9.6 mag on Jan. 20. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 19 2.82 -24 25.0 3.055 2.891 71 13.4 4:45 (321, 19) Mar. 23 19 12.02 -24 39.1 2.968 2.894 76 13.4 4:35 (323, 20) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Carlos Labordena reported it is extremely bright as 11.4 mag on Feb. 6. However, it is extremely diffuse. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 14 8.26 -24 7.7 5.470 6.226 136 13.6 2:35 ( 0, 31) Mar. 23 14 6.05 -24 6.6 5.397 6.225 143 13.6 2:05 ( 0, 31) C/2010 S1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 13.7 mag (Jan. 11, Hiroshi Abe). It keeps bright at 13-14 mag for a long time until 2014. It keeps observable for a long time in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 21 15.89 29 46.7 6.548 5.918 47 13.7 4:45 (252, 29) Mar. 23 21 17.54 29 59.1 6.507 5.914 49 13.6 4:35 (253, 32) 63P/Wild 1 Now it is so bright as 11.8 mag (Mar. 9, Carlos Labordena). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in excellent condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps locating extremely low for a while. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 9 42.78 28 17.2 1.092 1.967 140 14.0 22:06 ( 0, 83) Mar. 23 9 40.26 26 6.4 1.122 1.959 135 14.0 21:36 ( 0, 81) 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 14.5 mag (Mar. 4, Sandor Szabo). It will be observable also in the Southern Hemisphere from early December to early March, although it locates low. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 10 5.69 46 39.0 3.591 4.303 130 14.1 22:28 (180, 78) Mar. 23 9 54.03 47 44.6 3.639 4.267 123 14.1 21:49 (180, 77) C/2009 P1 ( Garradd ) It kept as bright as 6-7 mag for a long time from 2011 summer to 2012 spring. Now it is fading. But it is bright as 15.2 mag still now (Mar. 4, Sandor Szabo). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 8 20.61 -9 27.3 4.651 5.325 128 14.2 20:44 ( 0, 46) Mar. 23 8 16.65 -9 4.6 4.796 5.387 121 14.3 20:12 ( 0, 46) (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. Now it is 11.9 mag (May 29, Marco Goiato). It has already turned to be stellar. It is not observable now. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 22 30.78 -20 46.1 3.608 2.747 25 14.5 4:45 (286,-14) Mar. 23 22 42.50 -19 52.5 3.581 2.759 29 14.5 4:35 (286,-12) C/2009 F4 ( McNaught ) Now it is 14.7 mag (Feb. 3, Jakub Cerny). It will be fading slowly after this. But it keeps 15 mag in 2013. It is observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It is not observable now in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 3 5.44 -34 36.2 6.806 6.324 57 14.7 19:32 ( 46, 0) Mar. 23 3 8.53 -33 21.9 6.877 6.350 54 14.7 19:38 ( 51, -4) C/2012 K5 ( LINEAR ) It approached to the earth down to 0.3 A.U. and brightened up to 7-8 mag from late December to early January. However, it will go away from the earth and fade out rapidly after this. It has already faded down to 13.8 mag (Feb. 28, Sandor Szabo). It is observable in good condition also in the Southern Hemisphere after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 4 22.80 -17 17.1 2.083 1.983 70 15.0 19:32 ( 44, 25) Mar. 23 4 28.76 -17 39.6 2.243 2.062 66 15.3 19:38 ( 49, 20) C/2012 J1 ( Catalina ) Now it is bright and visible visually at 12.9 mag (Jan. 3, Chris Wyatt). It keeps 12-14 mag until February. It keeps observable in good condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not observable now in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 2 10.50 17 32.7 3.983 3.299 41 15.0 19:32 ( 96, 23) Mar. 23 2 21.29 17 37.1 4.065 3.319 36 15.1 19:38 ( 99, 18) 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1 Now it is 16.3 mag (Feb. 10, Hiroshi Abe). It keeps bright as 13-14 mag for a long time from 2013 to 2014. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 14 51.92 -11 10.5 2.792 3.528 131 15.1 3:18 ( 0, 44) Mar. 23 14 50.52 -11 7.2 2.704 3.514 138 15.0 2:49 ( 0, 44) C/2012 S1 ( ISON ) Now it is 14.9 mag (Mar. 4, Jakub Cerny). Already visible visually. It is expected to be a great comet in 2013 autumn when the comet approaches to the sun down to only 0.01 A.U. It keeps visible with naked eyes from November to January, and can be extremely bright as Venus or more at the highlight. The condition is excellent in the Northern Hemisphere. It keeps observable almost all through the period of brightening, at the highlight, and of fading. The condition is not good in the Southern Hemisphere. It is not observable at all the latter part of the highlight, and it keeps low all through the period. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 6 42.11 31 8.0 4.105 4.445 103 15.0 19:32 ( 56, 83) Mar. 23 6 39.52 30 54.0 4.143 4.364 96 15.0 19:38 ( 77, 76) C/2012 T5 ( Bressi ) Got brighter than expected after the outburst on Jan. 24. It brightened up to 9.2 mag on Feb. 4 (Michael Mattiazzo). However, it suddenly faded down to 10.5 mag and got diffuse on Feb. 5 (Michael Mattiazzo). It approached to the Sun down to 0.3 A.U. on Feb. 24. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is appearing in the morning sky. Juro Kobayashi succeeded to catch the comet at 13.5 mag on Mar. 8. However, Hidetaka Sato failed to catch the comet on Mar. 11, fainter than 17.5 mag. The comet can be already disintegrated. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 21 28.78 11 29.8 1.073 0.642 35 15.1 4:45 (268, 17) Mar. 23 21 39.34 21 18.8 1.176 0.791 41 16.3 4:35 (260, 23) C/2012 V2 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 15.6 mag (Jan. 23, W. Hasubick). It will brighten up to 12 mag from summer to autumn in 2013. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable only until spring when the comet brightens up to 15 mag. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps unobservable until August. Then it keeps observable while fading gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 1 36.59 45 24.0 2.978 2.517 53 15.4 19:32 (127, 29) Mar. 23 1 53.96 44 20.9 2.978 2.448 49 15.3 19:38 (128, 26) C/2012 K6 ( McNaught ) Now it is 15.8 mag, brighter than expected (Feb. 4, Hidetaka Sato). It reaches up to 15 mag from spring to summer. It is observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It locates low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 16 22.93 -49 24.9 3.071 3.411 101 15.4 4:45 (359, 6) Mar. 23 16 10.56 -49 9.0 2.934 3.399 109 15.3 4:10 ( 0, 6) 125P/Spacewatch Now it is 16.2 mag (Feb. 16, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable at 16 mag in the morning sky from February to April. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 19 33.65 -12 55.9 1.729 1.549 62 15.9 4:45 (307, 24) Mar. 23 19 52.94 -12 4.4 1.701 1.562 64 15.9 4:35 (306, 24) C/2012 K1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.4 mag (Jan. 6, J. F. Hernandez). It is expected to brighten up to 5-6 mag in 2014 autumn. In 2013, it keeps observable in good condition until autumn when it brigthens up to 13-14 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 17 33.22 12 52.5 6.191 6.318 92 16.0 4:45 (318, 62) Mar. 23 17 32.28 13 39.5 6.029 6.256 98 15.9 4:35 (326, 65) C/2012 L1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is visible visually at 13.7 mag (Dec. 23, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps 15 mag until March. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time until the comet fades out. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere, except for 2013 spring, but the comet locates extremely low only. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 4 19.83 29 36.4 2.539 2.440 72 15.9 19:32 ( 93, 54) Mar. 23 4 27.73 27 17.7 2.678 2.471 67 16.1 19:38 ( 93, 48) C/2011 O1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 16.1 mag (Jan. 16, Jakub Cerny). In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be observable at 15-16 mag in good condition for a long time until summer. It is not observable at all in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 2 23.58 -57 53.6 4.627 4.290 64 16.2 19:32 ( 33,-20) Mar. 23 2 36.83 -56 13.4 4.650 4.316 64 16.2 19:38 ( 36,-22) 262P/2012 K7 ( McNaught-Russell ) First return of a new periodic comet discovered in 1994. It brightened rapidly and reached up to 10.6 mag (Dec. 13, Katsumi Yoshimoto). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 14.6 mag (Mar. 4, Sandor Szabo). It has a large diffuse coma. It keeps locating high for a while, but it will be fading after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 4 24.70 -3 10.1 1.925 1.846 70 16.3 19:32 ( 54, 36) Mar. 23 4 41.85 -2 32.5 2.034 1.907 68 16.7 19:38 ( 58, 34) P/2012 B1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.4 mag (Jan. 18, Yasukazu Ikari). It will be observable at 17 mag for a long time from 2013 to 2014. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 12 9.16 5 49.8 2.905 3.893 172 16.5 0:36 ( 0, 61) Mar. 23 12 5.34 6 5.4 2.895 3.886 172 16.5 0:05 ( 0, 61) 152P/Helin-Lawrence It brightened up to 15.5 mag in 2012 summer. Although it has already passed the perihelion, it tends to become brightest after the perihelion passage. It will be observabel at 16 mag again in 2013 summer. Appearing in the morning sky in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 21 14.32 -20 33.4 4.073 3.383 40 16.6 4:45 (296, 1) Mar. 23 21 23.62 -20 5.7 4.020 3.397 45 16.6 4:35 (297, 3) C/2011 UF305 ( LINEAR ) It brightened much faster than expected, and reached up to 10.0 mag in summer (Aug. 9, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading, but it is bright as 13.3 ma still now (Feb. 2, Hidetaka Sato). It keeps observable in good condition for a while after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 6 33.79 3 58.1 3.044 3.405 102 16.9 19:32 ( 16, 58) Mar. 23 6 32.32 3 25.5 3.215 3.461 95 17.2 19:38 ( 31, 54) 175P/Hergenrother Now it is 16.2 mag (Feb. 18, Mt. Lemmon Survey). It keeps observable in good condition at 17 mag from January to June. It locates somewhat low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 8 54.48 22 15.3 1.199 2.023 134 17.0 21:18 ( 0, 77) Mar. 23 8 55.90 22 25.1 1.239 2.009 127 17.0 20:52 ( 0, 77) C/2012 Y3 ( McNaught ) It was discovered at 15 mag in late December. It must have been bright as 13-14 mag and observable in good condition from spring to autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. But it was not discovered. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.6 mag (Mar. 4, Hidetaka Sato). It will be fainter than 18 mag in April, and keeps observable in good condition. It will be observable also in the Northern Hemisphere after this in the evening sky while fading gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 5 31.56 -20 17.3 2.853 2.966 86 17.0 19:32 ( 26, 30) Mar. 23 5 37.34 -17 31.4 2.985 3.027 82 17.2 19:38 ( 35, 30) C/2012 X1 ( LINEAR ) It is expected to brighten up to 11 mag and become observable in excellent condition in 2014 spring. Now it is 17.0 mag (Feb. 18, Catalina Sky Survey). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until early summer. It locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 8 39.90 40 39.8 3.696 4.323 123 17.2 21:03 (180, 84) Mar. 23 8 36.47 40 52.2 3.721 4.259 116 17.1 20:32 (180, 84) C/2010 R1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 17.3 mag (Feb. 19, K. Hills). It brightened up to 16.5 mag in 2012. It will be observable in good condition again at 17.5 mag in 2013 spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 13 40.96 6 6.3 5.143 6.028 150 17.4 2:08 ( 0, 61) Mar. 23 13 33.44 6 44.8 5.113 6.046 157 17.4 1:33 ( 0, 62) 91P/Russell 3 It was observed around 20 mag in 2012 spring. But it has not been observed recently. It will be observable at 17.5 mag from spring to summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 17 54.86 -23 47.3 2.482 2.618 86 17.8 4:45 (335, 27) Mar. 23 18 3.07 -23 18.3 2.395 2.620 91 17.8 4:35 (337, 28) P/2005 L1 ( McNaught ) First return of a new periodic comet discovered in 2005. It will be observable at 17 mag for a long time from 2013 to 2014. However, it has not been recovered yet. Not it is fainter than 19.5 mag (Feb. 21, Martin Masek). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 17 12.58 -14 45.6 3.074 3.343 96 17.9 4:45 (343, 39) Mar. 23 17 16.64 -14 36.5 2.968 3.333 102 17.8 4:35 (347, 39) P/2012 F2 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 17.9 mag (Feb. 10, Hidetaka Sato). It keeps observable in good condition at 17 mag from spring to summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 18 13.81 -16 41.7 2.867 2.903 82 17.9 4:45 (327, 32) Mar. 23 18 21.80 -16 0.4 2.775 2.900 87 17.8 4:35 (329, 33) 274P/2012 WX32 ( Tombaugh-Tenagra ) It was identified with an old comet discovered in 1931 by Tombaugh. It was unusually bright as 12.5 mag in 1931. Now it is 16.9 mag (Feb. 8, Toshiyuki Takahashi). It keeps 17.5 mag until March, and keeps observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 6 56.66 36 37.3 1.981 2.447 105 17.9 19:32 (127, 87) Mar. 23 7 4.03 36 25.3 2.063 2.450 100 18.0 19:38 (103, 82) 244P/2010 Q1 ( Scotti ) Now it is 17.7 mag (Jan. 11, V. Gerke, S. Plaksa, A. Novichonok). It reached up to 17 mag in last winter between 2011 and 2012. It will be observable in good condition again at 17.5 mag in this winter. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 9 4.71 18 14.4 3.434 4.224 137 17.9 21:28 ( 0, 73) Mar. 23 9 3.08 18 17.2 3.517 4.233 130 18.0 20:59 ( 0, 73) 98P/Takamizawa It was predicted to be already 17 mag. But actually, it is 21.2 mag, much fainter than predicted by 4 mag (Mar. 15, Jean-Francois Soulier). It was expected to brighten up to 14 mag and to be observable in excellent condition in summer. However, it can be fainter than 18 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 16 15 14.09 -1 2.8 1.401 2.153 127 20.9 3:40 ( 0, 54) Mar. 23 15 18.11 -0 27.1 1.309 2.115 132 20.6 3:17 ( 0, 54)