Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2017 Apr. 29: South)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on May 8, 2017
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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.

C/2015 ER61 ( PanSTARRS ) Outburst occured on Apr. 4, and it brightened by 2 mag, up to 6.2 mag (Apr. 7, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It is very bright as 7.0 mag still now (May 1, Yoshimi Nagai). It stays observable for a long time after this. But it locates low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 22 46.65 -2 51.0 1.193 1.058 56 7.1 5:09 (245, 36) May 6 23 17.88 0 44.2 1.218 1.044 54 7.1 5:13 (241, 33) C/2015 V2 ( Johnson ) Now it is 8.1 mag (May 4, Seiichi Yoshida). It was expected to brighten up to 6-7 mag from April to July. But it is fainter than predicted recently. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in excellent condition until June. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays extremely low for a while. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 15 57.84 44 33.4 1.031 1.741 117 7.5 1:31 (180, 10) May 6 15 42.70 42 2.4 0.964 1.712 120 7.3 0:49 (180, 13) 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak Now it is very bright as 7.0 mag (May 3, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It approached to Earth down to 0.14 a.u. from late March to early April. It is still very close to the Earth, around 0.2 a.u. It is observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It becomes observable again after late April also in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 18 7.39 41 31.9 0.187 1.068 104 7.3 3:39 (180, 13) May 6 18 21.53 34 52.4 0.206 1.092 108 7.8 3:26 (180, 20) 103P/Hartley 2 It has not been observed yet in this apparition. The condition of this apparition is worst. It will brighten up to 10 mag in spring, but not observable at all. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 2 50.95 14 58.9 2.068 1.072 6 10.9 18:45 (100,-13) May 6 3 21.27 16 4.2 2.081 1.087 7 10.9 18:39 (102,-12) C/2017 E1 ( Borisov ) Now it is 11.0 mag (Apr. 28, Chris Wyatt). It stays 10-11 mag until May. It is not observable now in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable for a long time, but it stays low. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 0 9.89 0 45.3 1.572 0.963 36 11.2 5:09 (256, 17) May 6 0 37.81 2 9.6 1.639 1.013 35 11.7 5:13 (255, 17) 71P/Clark Now it is 12.0 mag (May 6, Marco Goiato). It is expected to brighten up to 10 mag in summer. It will be 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) Apr. 29 16 40.37 -19 35.6 0.755 1.693 147 11.7 2:13 (180, 75) May 6 16 42.00 -20 58.1 0.706 1.671 153 11.4 1:47 (180, 76) C/2017 E4 ( Lovejoy ) It brightened very rapidly, and brightened up to 6.3 mag (Apr. 2, Terry Lovejoy). However, the nucleus was disintegrated, and it is fading and getting diffuse rapidly after Apr. 9. It has already faded down to 10.5 mag (Apr. 19, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will not be observable after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 1 50.40 35 15.6 1.274 0.513 22 12.5 5:09 (241,-22) May 6 2 23.77 32 8.6 1.466 0.581 16 13.9 5:13 (244,-21) 2P/Encke Now it is fading rapidly. It has already faded down to 12.3 mag (Apr. 28, Chris Wyatt). In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition after this while the comet will be fading. It locates low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 22 47.86 -17 20.7 1.153 1.123 62 13.4 5:09 (260, 44) May 6 22 51.32 -17 8.0 1.176 1.231 68 14.1 5:13 (254, 50) 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Now it is 12.3 mag (Apr. 5, Chris Wyatt). Bright new fragment BT was discovered on Feb. 10. Now the fragment BT is fainter than the primary component. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable for a long time after this. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable temporarily until mid June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 23 59.52 -7 59.0 1.667 1.147 42 13.4 5:09 (262, 24) May 6 0 20.91 -6 5.9 1.708 1.200 43 13.7 5:13 (259, 26) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Outburst occured on Apr. 23. Now it is bright as 12.5 mag (May 4, Seiichi Yoshida). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 21 34.10 -14 37.5 5.982 5.848 77 13.6 5:09 (240, 57) May 6 21 36.67 -14 19.9 5.871 5.847 83 13.6 5:13 (229, 61) 65P/Gunn Now it is 14.7 mag (May 2, Catalina Sky Survey). It will brighten up to 14 mag from spring to summer. It locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere. The perihelion distance increased from 2.4 a.u. to 2.9 a.u. in this apparition. So it will not be bright as before. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 16 26.06 -20 54.8 2.114 3.031 150 14.2 1:59 (180, 76) May 6 16 22.19 -21 5.3 2.062 3.022 158 14.1 1:28 (180, 76) C/2016 R2 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is bright as 14.4 mag (Jan. 14, Thomas Lehmann). It is not observable now in the Northern Hemisphere. It will be unobservable temporarily in May also in the Southern Hemisphere. It will be getting higher gradually in the morning sky after summer. Then it will be observable at 11 mag for a long time from 2017 autumn to 2018 winter. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 3 35.22 -14 46.0 5.364 4.563 33 14.2 18:45 ( 81, 13) May 6 3 41.31 -13 42.6 5.329 4.511 32 14.2 18:39 ( 80, 9) C/2015 O1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 14.7 mag (Apr. 22, Yuji Ohshima). It will be observable at 13 mag for a long time from 2017 to 2018. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 18 57.74 11 19.6 4.131 4.540 107 14.5 4:30 (180, 44) May 6 18 51.96 12 53.2 4.003 4.506 113 14.4 3:57 (180, 42) C/2015 VL62 ( Lemmon-Yeung-PanSTARRS ) Now it is 15.6 mag (Feb. 15, Alexander Baransky). Appearing in the morning sky. It will brighten up to 12-13 mag and will be observable in good condition in summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 0 21.67 14 33.4 3.829 2.997 29 14.6 5:09 (247, 6) May 6 0 22.26 14 48.9 3.724 2.968 36 14.5 5:13 (242, 12) 217P/LINEAR Now it is 15.9 mag (May 5, A. Maury, B. Sandness, T. Noel). It will brighten rapidly, and it is expected to brighten up to 12 mag from July to September. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays at the same altitude in the morning sky. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be getting higher slowly. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 22 57.23 -7 43.3 1.895 1.573 56 15.0 5:09 (251, 37) May 6 23 19.84 -6 12.6 1.815 1.524 57 14.7 5:13 (248, 38) C/2016 N4 ( MASTER ) Appearing in the morning sky. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will brighten up to 14 mag from summer to next winter, and it will be observable in excellent condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be observable in the very low sky only from May to June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 0 7.27 20 31.3 4.266 3.469 33 15.1 5:09 (240, 5) May 6 0 12.30 22 32.2 4.183 3.444 37 15.0 5:13 (235, 8) 315P/2013 V6 ( LONEOS ) Small outburst occured in mid March, and it brightened up to 12.3 mag (Mar. 15, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.0 mag (Apr. 30, Catalina Sky Survey). It is observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It stays low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 11 29.69 27 48.5 2.015 2.667 120 15.4 21:00 (180, 27) May 6 11 30.77 26 29.9 2.103 2.689 114 15.6 20:33 (180, 29) C/2011 KP36 ( Spacewatch ) Now it is 15.6 mag (Mar. 6, Kunihiro Shima). Now it is not observable. But it will appear in the morning sky in June in the Southern Hemisphere, or in July in the Northern Hemisphere. Then it stays observable at 15.5 mag unil the end of 2017. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 2 15.63 2 51.0 6.434 5.452 11 15.4 5:09 (273,-10) May 6 2 22.00 3 13.1 6.442 5.474 15 15.4 5:13 (269, -5) C/2016 M1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.2 mag (May 2, D. Buczynski). It is expected to brighten up to 9 mag in summer in 2018. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable until 2018 summer while the comet will be brightening. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is hardly observable in 2017, but it will be observable in good condition in 2018. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 19 8.13 51 43.2 5.198 5.297 90 15.8 4:40 (180, 3) May 6 19 4.45 52 23.3 5.103 5.241 92 15.7 4:09 (180, 3) C/2014 B1 ( Schwartz ) Now it is 15.3 mag (Apr. 23, Yuji Ohshima). It stays 16-17 mag for a long time from 2016 to 2019. It stays near by the equator. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 9 6.47 6 21.4 9.388 9.586 98 16.0 18:45 (177, 49) May 6 9 7.63 6 32.8 9.496 9.583 91 16.0 18:39 (170, 48) 81P/Wild 2 It brightened up to 11 mag from spring to summer in 2016. Now it is 17.2 mag (Apr. 30, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It will be observable at 16-17 mag in good condition from spring to summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 20 27.85 -17 13.0 2.664 2.906 93 16.1 5:09 (216, 69) May 6 20 30.94 -17 2.1 2.604 2.945 99 16.1 5:13 (197, 71) C/2016 B1 ( NEOWISE ) Now it is 16.1 mag (May 2, D. Buczynski). It was observed at 16 mag from spring to summer in 2016. It will be observable at 16 mag also in 2017 from winter to spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 18 27.85 14 1.4 2.964 3.491 113 16.2 4:00 (180, 41) May 6 18 27.32 16 3.8 2.933 3.517 117 16.3 3:32 (180, 39) 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh Now it is 16.9 mag (Apr. 22, Yuji Ohshima). It stays observable at 16 mag until June. It locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 7 15.39 26 43.6 3.912 3.660 68 16.2 18:45 (151, 22) May 6 7 22.45 26 29.2 3.999 3.654 63 16.3 18:39 (148, 21) C/2017 D2 ( Barros ) Now it is 16.8 mag (Apr. 7, MASTER-OAFA Observatory). It will brighten up to 15.5 mag in summer. It will be observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays unobservable for some more time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 21 19.95 -43 17.9 2.414 2.619 90 16.6 5:09 (300, 68) May 6 21 30.60 -42 33.0 2.319 2.596 94 16.5 5:13 (301, 72) 47P/Ashbrook-Jackson It was observed at 17 mag in 2016. In 2017, it will be observable at 15.5 mag in good condition from summer to autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 23 57.11 -2 44.7 3.519 2.829 40 16.5 5:09 (257, 22) May 6 0 6.80 -1 24.5 3.456 2.826 44 16.5 5:13 (252, 25) C/2014 OE4 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 15.7 mag (Apr. 23, D. Buczynski). It stays 16 mag from 2016 to 2017. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition for a long time. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 19 3.98 56 33.4 6.259 6.317 88 16.6 4:36 (180, -2) May 6 19 3.42 57 56.8 6.252 6.325 89 16.6 4:08 (180, -3) C/2014 W2 ( PanSTARRS ) It stayed bright 12 mag for a long time from autum in 2015 to summer in 2016. Now it is fading. It has already faded dwon to 16.1 mag (Apr. 29, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 17 3.63 -10 6.5 4.038 4.863 141 16.6 2:37 (180, 65) May 6 16 57.72 -10 35.2 4.023 4.915 148 16.7 2:03 (180, 66) P/2000 S1 ( Skiff ) It has not been recovered yet in this apparition. It will brighten rapidly, and it is expected to be observable at 15.5 mag in good condition from July to September. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 23 19.63 -22 46.1 2.958 2.581 58 16.8 5:09 (271, 40) May 6 23 31.60 -21 38.1 2.883 2.571 62 16.7 5:13 (267, 44) C/2013 X1 ( PanSTARRS ) It brightened up to 6.2 mag in June in 2016 (June 24, Marco Goiato). Now it is 16.7 mag (Apr. 30, K. Hills). In the Southern Hemisphee, it stays observable in excellent condition after this. It stays low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 13 6.91 -29 35.2 3.798 4.738 156 16.7 22:36 (180, 85) May 6 12 57.99 -28 24.1 3.896 4.805 151 16.8 21:59 (180, 83) C/2016 A1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.3 mag (Apr. 28, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It stays 16 mag for a long time from 2017 to 2018. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 8 15.78 8 38.9 5.533 5.548 85 16.7 18:45 (160, 44) May 6 8 15.65 9 31.8 5.643 5.534 78 16.7 18:39 (153, 42) 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova It approached to Earth down to 0.08 a.u. in mid February, and brightened up to 6.5 mag (Feb. 10, Danil Sidorko). Now it is fading rapidly. It has already faded down to 15.9 mag (Apr. 13, Ken-ichi Kadota). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 10 42.49 15 10.0 1.294 1.973 117 17.0 20:13 (180, 40) May 6 10 47.51 14 10.4 1.444 2.052 112 17.5 19:50 (180, 41) C/2014 R3 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.3 mag (Apr. 30, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It brightened rapidly, and became brighter than originally expected. It stays 16-17 mag until 2017. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in excellent condition for a long time. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 11 42.09 58 51.3 7.232 7.467 99 17.2 21:11 (180, -4) May 6 11 35.76 58 0.1 7.315 7.477 95 17.3 20:38 (180, -3) C/2017 E3 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 17.2 mag (Apr. 30, P. Camilleri, H. Williams). In the Southern Hemisphere, it is observable at 17 mag in good condition in spring. It stays extremely low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 12 44.97 -41 0.2 5.062 5.920 145 17.2 22:14 ( 0, 84) May 6 12 42.48 -39 44.8 5.077 5.918 143 17.3 21:44 ( 0, 85) C/2013 V4 ( Catalina ) It brightened up to 15 mag in early 2016. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.0 mag (Apr. 29, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition for a long time until autumn when the comet will be fainter than 18 mag. It will never be observable after this in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 14 16.75 71 24.7 6.524 6.674 94 17.3 23:45 (180,-16) May 6 14 6.78 70 49.4 6.587 6.705 92 17.4 23:07 (180,-16) C/2015 TQ209 ( LINEAR ) It has not been observed since last April. Now it is fading. But it must be bright as 17 mag still now. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 17 0.30 -17 5.9 2.583 3.438 142 17.4 2:33 (180, 72) May 6 16 55.52 -16 38.9 2.595 3.508 150 17.5 2:01 (180, 72) C/2016 N6 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.3 mag (Apr. 30, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It stays at 14 mag for a long time from 2018 to 2019. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition while the comet will be brightening gradually. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable until 2018 October. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 18 17.65 53 1.3 4.882 5.092 96 17.5 3:50 (180, 2) May 6 18 10.25 54 44.7 4.811 5.040 97 17.4 3:15 (180, 0) 157P/Tritton Although it was predicted to be fainter than 21 mag, an outburst occured and now it is very bright as 16.5 mag (May 1, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It stays observable in good condition for a while. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 13 29.91 -20 43.3 2.241 3.225 165 17.4 22:59 (180, 76) May 6 13 24.36 -20 0.6 2.305 3.266 158 17.9 22:26 (180, 75) C/2016 T1 ( Matheny ) It will be observable at 17.5 mag in good condition from April to May. No observations have been reported recently. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 17 10.46 -11 6.6 1.636 2.490 139 17.5 2:44 (180, 66) May 6 16 44.37 -12 45.0 1.582 2.520 152 17.5 1:51 (180, 68) C/2017 D3 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 16.6 mag (Apr. 29, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It is observable at 17 mag in good condition in spring. It locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 12 15.45 -22 9.7 4.086 4.971 148 17.5 21:45 (180, 77) May 6 12 9.44 -20 16.7 4.144 4.972 141 17.6 21:11 (180, 75) 213P/Van Ness Now it is 17.4 mag (Apr. 30, Thomas Lehmann). It was expected to brighten up to 12 mag in summer. But actually, it is fainter than expected by 3-4 mag. It is observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 19 11.47 -33 23.0 1.686 2.278 113 17.9 4:44 (180, 88) May 6 19 17.96 -33 21.3 1.593 2.254 118 17.6 4:23 (180, 88) 94P/Russell 4 Now it is 17.0 mag (May 5, Mt. Lemmon Survey). It will be fainter than 18 mag in May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 14 50.23 -11 6.1 1.545 2.548 173 17.8 0:24 (180, 66) May 6 14 44.45 -10 58.7 1.564 2.569 174 17.8 23:46 (180, 66) 43P/Wolf-Harrington It brightened up to 11-12 mag from summer to autumn in last year. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.9 mag (Apr. 29, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 11 31.65 -17 55.4 1.939 2.773 138 17.9 21:01 (180, 73) May 6 11 31.31 -16 48.8 2.041 2.818 132 18.1 20:34 (180, 72) C/2013 C2 ( Tenagra ) Very far object. Outburst occured on Feb. 20, 2015, and it brightened up to 15 mag. Now it is 18.0 mag (Apr. 29, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). 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) Apr. 29 14 32.39 -25 41.8 8.415 9.404 168 17.9 0:06 (180, 81) May 6 14 30.36 -25 26.3 8.416 9.410 169 17.9 23:32 (180, 80) C/2015 H2 ( PanSTARRS ) It stays observable at 18 mag from spring to summer. It is observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays unobservable for some more time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 22 16.12 -34 41.6 5.406 5.267 76 17.9 5:09 (281, 57) May 6 22 20.27 -34 26.0 5.328 5.285 82 17.9 5:13 (278, 63) C/2017 B3 ( LINEAR ) It stays 15 mag from 2018 to 2019, and it will be observable for a long time in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable only until June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 29 12 10.98 -27 27.1 5.725 6.586 146 18.0 21:40 (180, 83) May 6 12 7.41 -27 18.0 5.733 6.543 140 17.9 21:09 (180, 82)