Weekly Information about Bright Comets (1999 Jan. 23: South)

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 Updated on January 25, 1999
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Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. 35 deg in the Southern Hemisphere.

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* C/1998 M5 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 17
We can see it in good condition until June. Southern observers cannot see it. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  19 10.29   49 21.2   1.801   1.742    70    9.7     29.5  13.4   3:29 (232,-40)  
Jan. 30  19 15.36   52 58.7   1.743   1.744    73    9.6     34.2  11.2   3:39 (226,-36)

* C/1998 P1 ( Williams )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 17
It will be bright in good condition until late February. But then it fades and becomes low rapidly after that. It will close to a galaxy NGC 3686 (11.4 mag, 3.3 arcmin) down to 11 arcmin at 15h(UT) on Jan. 26. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  11 40.47   14 27.8   1.065   1.871   131    9.9     91.5 315.3   3:29 (182, 41)  
Jan. 30  11  6.18   22  6.6   1.045   1.949   147   10.0     98.2 311.4   2:33 (180, 33)

* P/1998 U3 ( Jager )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 13
Rapidly brightening and easy to see now. We can see it as around 10.0 mag in good condition until May. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   6 21.78   33  8.6   1.266   2.178   150   10.1     15.6 203.0  22:11 (180, 22)  
Jan. 30   6 19.22   31 26.8   1.292   2.166   143   10.0     14.9 192.0  21:41 (180, 24)

* 52P/Harrington-Abell

 Image: 1999 Jan. 13
It keeps the good condition until March. It is low for Southern people. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   7  6.00   38  1.9   0.812   1.757   155   10.6     12.1 203.7  22:55 (180, 17)  
Jan. 30   7  3.97   36 38.7   0.831   1.756   150   10.7     12.7 188.9  22:26 (180, 18)

* 21P/Giacobini-Zinner

 Image: 1999 Jan. 16
It was a bit fainter than the ephemeris. It will fade and become hard to see visually next month. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   1 45.72  -21  3.7   1.192   1.344    75   10.9     55.4  77.5  20:52 ( 95, 45)  
Jan. 30   2 11.70  -19 33.6   1.269   1.403    75   11.2     52.3  75.2  20:45 ( 98, 46)

* C/1995 O1 ( Hale-Bopp )
Because the nuclear magnitude brightened 3 mag in mid December, visual observers recently reported it as bright as 10.0 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   5 12.78  -72 45.7   7.572   7.509    82   11.2      7.5 306.8  21:02 (  0, 52)  
Jan. 30   5  4.23  -72 11.3   7.630   7.566    82   11.2      7.3 316.2  20:45 (  2, 53)

* C/1999 A1 ( Tilbrook )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 16
A new comet, but northern people can never see it again. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  23 41.63  -39 12.3   0.824   0.743    47   11.3     43.4 183.9  20:52 ( 60, 28)  
Jan. 30  23 37.68  -43 21.6   0.976   0.731    43   11.6     30.4 197.5  20:45 ( 53, 26)

* C/1998 U5 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 16
Not observable. It will appear again at dawn as 13.5 mag in late March. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  21  7.55   14 32.4   1.992   1.330    36   11.4      5.1 190.7  20:52 ( 86,-32)  
Jan. 30  21  7.19   14  3.2   2.101   1.372    32   11.7      3.4 189.8  20:45 ( 82,-36)

* 4P/Faye

 Image: 1998 Dec. 13
Hard to observe it because it is very low. It will appear again in September as 13 mag after conjunction. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  22 23.64   -6 42.6   2.694   1.942    32   13.2     34.5  73.8  20:52 ( 79, -4)  
Jan. 30  22 39.42   -5 32.3   2.700   1.908    29   13.0     35.6  73.0  20:45 ( 79, -6)

* C/1998 T1 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 16
Although reported as bright as 13.5-14.0 mag visually, it is so faint as around 16 mag by CCD. It will reach to 7 mag next year but the condition is bad for Northern people. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  23 16.98    0 16.6   3.071   2.519    47   13.4      4.3 191.8  20:52 ( 92,  3)  
Jan. 30  23 16.90   -0 10.0   3.113   2.450    40   13.4      3.4 171.8  20:45 ( 89, -1)

* C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy )

 Image: 1998 Dec. 13
Not observable. We have another chance in July, but only 15 deg altitude as 15 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  21 53.87  -19 43.3   5.196   4.301    22   13.6     12.5  99.6  20:52 ( 64, -2)  
Jan. 30  22  0.01  -19 57.1   5.277   4.345    17   13.7     12.6  98.7  20:45 ( 62, -4)

* 88P/Howell

 Image: 1999 Jan. 10
It was a bit brighter in December, about 11-12 mag. No observation reported in January. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  23  3.14   -8 57.2   2.480   1.853    40   13.7     39.0  65.7  20:52 ( 83,  5)  
Jan. 30  23 19.62   -7  5.3   2.567   1.896    38   14.0     37.9  65.3  20:45 ( 84,  4)

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

 Image: 1999 Jan. 4
It was so faint as 17.5 mag on Jan. 4. Although it keeps lower than 27 deg for Northern people in 1999. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  15 11.49  -27  9.4   6.461   6.194    69   14.0      7.0 116.1   3:29 (276, 44)  
Jan. 30  15 14.56  -27 30.3   6.352   6.192    76   14.0      6.1 118.1   3:39 (272, 51)

* C/1997 BA6 ( Spacewatch )

 Image: 1998 Dec. 5
It locates high in the Southern Hemisphere. Already hard to see it in the Northern Hemisphere. It is rather bright as 13-14 mag visually now. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   9 38.22  -45  5.5   3.952   4.428   112   14.1     17.4 227.6   1:32 (  0, 80)  
Jan. 30   9 29.19  -46 21.8   3.880   4.390   115   14.0     17.3 234.3   0:55 (  0, 79)

* 93P/Lovas 1

 Image: 1999 Jan. 12
It has been as bright as 13 mag both visually and by CCD since perihelion passage. Very low for the Southern people. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   6  8.08   41 32.6   1.089   1.975   144   14.1     12.9 179.4  21:58 (180, 14)  
Jan. 30   6  9.10   40  2.7   1.160   2.011   139   14.4     13.1 166.1  21:31 (180, 15)

* P/1998 W1 ( Spahr )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 10
Bright as around 14.0 mag visually, around 15.0 mag by CCD. The brightness is at peak now. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   4  6.70   14  0.8   1.013   1.726   119   14.6     27.8  22.7  20:52 (163, 39)  
Jan. 30   4 12.84   16 55.2   1.069   1.729   114   14.7     28.1  31.0  20:45 (159, 35)

* 102P/Shoemaker 1
Not yet observed in this return. It may be much fainter than the ephemeris. We can observe it for a while as 15-16 mag after appearing again at dawn as 15 mag in next summer. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  21 53.28  -14  2.9   2.896   2.028    23   14.9     34.7  57.4  20:52 ( 69, -5)  
Jan. 30  22  7.29  -11 50.5   2.914   2.017    19   14.9     35.0  57.0  20:45 ( 70, -8)

* 37P/Forbes
Not yet observed in this return. The ephemeris says it will be bright as 15 mag, so CCD observers may catch it soon. Now is the chance to observe it for the first time. It will be at the peak in June and reach to 13 mag, but the altitude keeps only about 15 deg for the Northern people until June. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  16 27.16  -27 14.3   2.192   1.788    53   15.2     40.9 101.8   3:29 (285, 29)  
Jan. 30  16 48.64  -28  7.7   2.105   1.749    55   15.0     42.0  99.7   3:39 (284, 32)

* C/1998 K2 ( LINEAR )
Only observable in the Southern Hemisphere. No observations reported recently. It was faint as 14-16 mag between August and October. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  23 44.30  -59 11.1   3.283   2.817    53   15.1     31.1  49.8  20:52 ( 38, 35)  
Jan. 30   0  4.81  -56 48.2   3.337   2.860    53   15.2     30.8  48.4  20:45 ( 41, 34)

* 60P/Tsuchinshan 2

 Image: 1998 Dec. 24
Brightened rapidly. It will be around 16 mag for a while after this. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   6 17.97   23  9.9   0.889   1.816   151   15.9      8.1 213.1  22:08 (180, 32)  
Jan. 30   6 16.66   22 22.9   0.910   1.803   144   15.7      6.6 185.7  21:39 (180, 33)

* P/1998 Y2 ( Li )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 10
A new comet. The current brightness and condition will keep until early April. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   2 51.80    2  9.3   2.199   2.537    98   15.8     19.5  33.5  20:52 (134, 42)  
Jan. 30   2 57.30    4  1.9   2.289   2.544    93   15.9     20.4  38.7  20:45 (131, 38)

* P/1998 S1 ( LINEAR-Mueller )

 Image: 1998 Dec. 12
14 mag visually, but 16 mag by CCD. Slowly fading although the location will be good for a while. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   1 23.46   17 40.0   2.533   2.610    83   15.8     18.9  69.1  20:52 (126, 16)  
Jan. 30   1 32.42   18 28.1   2.630   2.621    78   15.9     20.1  69.5  20:45 (125, 14)

* C/1998 M2 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1998 Dec. 12
14.5 mag visually and 15 mag by CCD, but low in the evening sky. It will appear at dawn after February and we can trace it while fading gradually. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  20 37.19   31  9.8   3.724   3.196    50   15.9     26.1  65.7  20:52 (101,-45)  
Jan. 30  20 50.23   32 26.4   3.773   3.233    50   16.0     26.1  64.6  20:45 (102,-47)

* 140P/Bowell-Skiff

 Image: 1999 Jan. 12
It keeps 16 mag for a while after this. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   6 45.15   28 20.6   1.329   2.268   156   16.2      8.8 261.5  22:34 (180, 27)  
Jan. 30   6 41.12   28  9.2   1.332   2.235   149   16.1      6.7 253.2  22:03 (180, 27)

* 95P/(2060) Chiron
Not yet observed since it appeared in the morning sky. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  16  0.17  -17 31.6   9.720   9.284    61   16.2      5.2  95.8   3:29 (272, 29)  
Jan. 30  16  2.57  -17 34.7   9.624   9.293    67   16.2      4.6  94.6   3:39 (266, 37)

* 10P/Tempel 2
It is getting brighter now, so CCD observers will catch it soon. It should be fainter than the ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  15 35.02   -7 44.6   2.695   2.527    69   16.7     23.0  97.0   3:29 (258, 29)  
Jan. 30  15 45.73   -8  2.1   2.571   2.486    73   16.5     22.7  95.5   3:39 (254, 35)

* C/1998 W3 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 5
It will keep the current brightness until early April. One reported it as 14.9 mag visually. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   7 29.21   41 35.4   4.078   4.991   155   16.5     21.0 294.4  23:18 (180, 13)  
Jan. 30   7 17.40   42 30.4   4.133   5.001   148   16.6     19.7 291.3  22:38 (180, 12)

* C/1998 K5 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 16
Fading now. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   2 43.53    9 59.3   2.623   2.942    98   17.1     11.1  70.6  20:52 (137, 34)  
Jan. 30   2 48.75   10 26.1   2.802   3.022    93   17.3     12.2  71.1  20:45 (134, 32)

* C/1998 Y1 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 10
A new comet. It will fade out very soon, however, it is already much fainter than the ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   6 51.70   36 24.4   0.958   1.894   154   17.2     21.8 355.3  22:41 (180, 18)  
Jan. 30   6 51.42   38 41.1   1.027   1.930   147   17.4     17.4   2.9  22:14 (180, 16)

* (3200) Phaethon
Mother asteroid of Geminids. CCD observers will be able to catch it because it is stellar in a good position. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   1 42.92   22 10.5   1.779   2.024    89   17.4      8.6 149.5  20:52 (133, 16)  
Jan. 30   1 45.84   21 25.2   1.845   1.978    82   17.4      9.1 127.9  20:45 (129, 14)

* C/1998 K1 ( Mueller )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 4
Appearing at dawn now, but it is very faint now. It will keep the brightness for a long time after this, but it keeps very low for the Northern people. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  14 43.55  -24 48.9   3.755   3.656    76   17.5     14.7 142.1   3:29 (269, 49)  
Jan. 30  14 47.86  -26  9.7   3.677   3.678    82   17.5     13.8 146.4   3:39 (266, 56)

* 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh

 Image: 1998 Dec. 19
It is around the aphelion now. The recent magnitude is 18-19 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   3 12.11   15 58.9   3.786   4.187   107   17.6      2.5  44.7  20:52 (148, 33)  
Jan. 30   3 13.38   16 13.0   3.883   4.179   100   17.7      4.1  57.2  20:45 (143, 30)

* 1997 CU26
A Centaur asteroid. CCD observers will be able to catch it because it is stellar in a good position. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   9 27.04    5 16.1  12.604  13.523   158   17.7      3.3 275.0   1:20 (180, 50)  
Jan. 30   9 25.46    5 18.6  12.568  13.520   164   17.7      3.5 277.1   0:51 (180, 50)

* 65P/Gunn

 Image: 1998 Dec. 19
It is around the aphelion now. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   2 55.51   14 35.6   4.176   4.503   103   17.7      2.8  41.3  20:52 (143, 32)  
Jan. 30   2 56.74   14 51.4   4.295   4.513    96   17.8      4.1  53.5  20:45 (139, 29)

* 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8
No observations reported recently. Maybe much fainter than the ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  11 50.12   -5  6.8   2.572   3.211   122   18.2      1.4 144.0   3:29 (187, 60)  
Jan. 30  11 50.04   -5 11.4   2.474   3.194   129   18.0      1.2 262.8   3:15 (180, 60)

* 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1
It was brighter than the ephemeris, 16.5 mag in November, 17 mag in December. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   0 32.40   -4 30.0   4.725   4.372    63   18.2     11.9  57.5  20:52 (100, 21)  
Jan. 30   0 37.28   -3 44.7   4.829   4.383    57   18.2     12.6  58.8  20:45 ( 98, 17)

* C/1998 X1 ( ODAS )

 Image: 1998 Dec. 26
A new comet. But so faint and fading after this. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23   9 49.12   14 46.6   1.503   2.444   158   18.3     11.6 288.2   1:42 (180, 40)  
Jan. 30   9 43.42   15 13.2   1.504   2.472   166   18.3     13.0 287.5   1:09 (180, 40)

* (5145) Pholus
A Centaur asteroid. CCD observers will be able to catch it because it is stellar. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  14 24.26   11 58.1  13.731  13.815    92   18.4      2.0  46.5   3:29 (228, 28)  
Jan. 30  14 24.85   12  8.6  13.642  13.833    99   18.4      1.9  31.9   3:39 (219, 34)

* 49P/Arend-Rigaux
Extremely faint, but it is stellar. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Jan. 23  14 33.71    4 18.1   2.238   2.414    88   18.6     14.2  73.6   3:29 (236, 33)  
Jan. 30  14 39.52    4 50.1   2.197   2.463    93   18.6     12.3  65.3   3:39 (228, 38)

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Copyright(C) Seiichi Yoshida (comet@aerith.net). All rights reserved.