Weekly Information about Bright Comets (1999 Apr. 3: North)

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 Updated on April 7, 1999
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Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. 35 deg in the Northern Hemisphere.

Please see also the Comet Rendezvous Calendar, Latest Pictures of Comets.

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* C/1998 M5 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 31
We can see it in good condition until June. Southern observers cannot see it until May. It became smaller and fainter, about 12 mag, in March by CCD, but visual observers reported it as bright as the ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   8  5.36   71  7.7   1.653   1.952    91   10.0     58.0 175.0  19:48 (176, 54)  
Apr. 10   8 12.31   64 37.2   1.736   1.994    89   10.2     54.0 173.2  19:55 (168, 60)

* 4P/Faye

 Image: 1998 Dec. 13
Not observable. It will appear again in September as 13 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   1 17.32    7 31.1   2.675   1.690     7   11.6     42.5  72.3  19:48 (107,-11)  
Apr. 10   1 36.56    9  0.1   2.671   1.678     6   11.6     42.9  73.0  19:55 (111,-13)

* C/1995 O1 ( Hale-Bopp )
Only southern people can observe it. Norhtern people can never see it again. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   4 53.93  -65 50.4   8.127   8.075    83   11.6      6.1  30.7  19:48 ( 21,-19)  
Apr. 10   4 57.77  -65 15.4   8.178   8.131    83   11.7      6.0  38.0  19:55 ( 24,-21)

* C/1998 T1 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Feb. 6
It is appearing at dawn in the Southern Hemisphere. But still not observable in the Northern Hemisphere, it will appear again in early May as 10 mag. It was 16 mag by CCD after all until February... 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  23 31.41   -1 59.5   2.774   1.868    20   11.9      4.4 113.2   4:19 (267, -7)  
Apr. 10  23 33.21   -2 13.3   2.649   1.812    26   11.7      4.3 121.7   4:08 (270, -4)

* P/1998 U3 ( Jager )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 31
Fading rapidly. I modified the ephemeris to be fainter, but it was 12-13 mag in March by CCD, about 1.5 mag fainter than the new ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   7  6.41   18 31.9   1.848   2.146    92   12.0     23.1 115.8  19:48 ( 55, 65)  
Apr. 10   7 16.97   17 21.9   1.930   2.154    88   12.1     24.3 114.1  19:55 ( 61, 60)

* 52P/Harrington-Abell

 Image: 1999 Mar. 31
Fading rapidly. I modified the ephemeris to be fainter, but it was 14 mag in March by CCD, about 2 mag fainter than the new ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   8  2.22   22 32.2   1.330   1.861   105   12.6     26.1 118.8  19:48 ( 30, 76)  
Apr. 10   8 14.01   21  4.2   1.411   1.884   101   12.8     27.1 117.5  19:55 ( 43, 72)

* 37P/Forbes
Observed for the first time in this return on Mar. 21 as 13.3 mag visually, as bright as expected. t 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)  
Apr.  3  20 27.99  -26  2.4   1.492   1.484    69   13.4     48.7  75.7   4:19 (314, 12)  
Apr. 10  20 52.15  -24 30.2   1.447   1.469    71   13.3     48.5  73.2   4:08 (312, 12)

* C/1999 A1 ( Tilbrook )

 Image: 1999 Jan. 16
Only southern people can observe it. It will appear at dawn as 16 mag in mid June for Norhtern observers. It brightened about 1 mag after perihelion passage. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  22 12.13  -53  6.5   1.434   1.386    66   13.4     18.3 243.5   4:19 (321,-21)  
Apr. 10  21 57.95  -54  8.9   1.406   1.486    74   13.7     22.1 243.7   4:08 (325,-17)

* C/1997 BA6 ( Spacewatch )

 Image: 1998 Dec. 5
It locates high in the Southern Hemisphere. For the Northern observsers, this early April is the last chance. Then it has gone to the south. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   8  3.15  -48  8.8   3.672   4.069   106   13.4      9.2 299.0  19:48 (  5,  7)  
Apr. 10   7 58.24  -47 36.3   3.685   4.036   103   13.4      7.7 308.1  19:55 ( 12,  6)

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
It has bursted out on Mar. 16 and raeched to 12.6 mag visually. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  15 18.49  -29 19.8   5.410   6.177   136   13.6      3.9 266.7   2:36 (  0, 26)  
Apr. 10  15 16.19  -29 19.9   5.339   6.176   143   13.6      4.7 272.4   2:06 (  0, 26)

* C/1998 P1 ( Williams )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 31
Fading rapidly. I modified the ephemeris to be fainter, but it was 14-15 mag in March by CCD, about 2 mag fainter than the new ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   7 18.94   41 45.7   2.423   2.661    92   13.9      8.0 257.1  19:48 (120, 74)  
Apr. 10   7 15.26   41 32.6   2.633   2.740    85   14.4      4.6 245.3  19:55 (115, 67)

* C/1997 J2 ( Meunier-Dupouy )

 Image: 1998 Dec. 13
Not observable. It will appear again in late May as 14 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  22 53.33  -22 16.5   5.492   4.757    39   14.2     11.0 108.2   4:19 (290,-11)  
Apr. 10  22 58.50  -22 42.4   5.463   4.804    44   14.2     10.7 111.6   4:08 (292, -9)

* 21P/Giacobini-Zinner

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
It was a bit brighter than the ephemeris visually. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   5  6.70   -6  4.1   2.158   1.971    65   14.6     35.1  74.8  19:48 ( 60, 27)  
Apr. 10   5 22.34   -5  3.4   2.272   2.034    63   14.9     33.9  76.1  19:55 ( 65, 24)

* 88P/Howell

 Image: 1999 Feb. 6
Not observable. Although it appears again in July, it will be fainter than 18 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   1 28.47    7 37.0   3.273   2.298    10   14.8     29.8  66.9  19:48 (106, -8)  
Apr. 10   1 41.26    8 56.9   3.333   2.343     7   15.0     29.0  67.4  19:55 (110,-12)

* 102P/Shoemaker 1
Not yet observed in this return. Although it is not observable now, we can observe it for a while as 15-16 mag after appearing again at dawn as 15 mag in June. But it should be muyh fainter than the ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   0 12.66    9 29.8   2.963   1.985     9   14.8     36.3  55.0   4:19 (252, -9)  
Apr. 10   0 26.79   11 54.8   2.958   1.990    12   14.8     36.2  55.2   4:08 (251, -7)

* C/1998 U5 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
It is very diffused and hard to observe. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  20 52.35   15  8.5   2.266   1.941    58   15.4     11.3 289.6   4:19 (276, 35)  
Apr. 10  20 46.48   15 35.7   2.213   2.014    65   15.5     14.2 286.1   4:08 (279, 40)

* C/1999 E1 ( Li )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
New comet. Bright and easy to observe. It was 14 mag visually. We can observe it as 16 mag even in 2000. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   6 34.26    8 32.3   3.999   4.055    86   15.6     13.5  41.5  19:48 ( 53, 52)  
Apr. 10   6 38.79    9 40.8   4.101   4.056    80   15.6     13.9  47.2  19:55 ( 62, 48)

* 95P/(2060) Chiron

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
A bit fainter than the ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  16  9.38  -17 15.2   8.722   9.385   129   16.0      1.9 298.7   3:26 (  0, 38)  
Apr. 10  16  8.42  -17  8.5   8.646   9.395   136   16.0      2.5 293.7   2:58 (  0, 38)

* 140P/Bowell-Skiff

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
It keeps 17 mag until July. It was 14 mag visually. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   7 18.89   24 15.3   1.665   2.017    95   16.1     22.2 104.4  19:48 ( 61, 71)  
Apr. 10   7 30.38   23 34.3   1.719   2.003    90   16.1     24.3 104.6  19:55 ( 68, 66)

* P/1998 W1 ( Spahr )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
In March, it was 14.5 mag visually, 1 mag brighter than the ephemeris. But 16.5 mag by CCD, 1 mag fainter than the ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   6 12.91   32 59.9   1.750   1.860    80   16.3     32.0  78.4  19:48 ( 96, 61)  
Apr. 10   6 30.58   33 37.6   1.837   1.884    76   16.4     32.1  81.8  19:55 ( 99, 58)

* C/1998 M1 ( LINEAR )
Appearing at dawn. Last observation is on Sept. 16. It keeps 16 mag until August, locating in good position. We failed to observe it on Mar. 22, it should be fainter than 16.8 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  21 25.52    0  7.4   4.011   3.464    50   16.4     19.9  58.3   4:19 (284, 20)  
Apr. 10  21 33.18    1 20.6   3.969   3.493    55   16.4     19.0  56.6   4:08 (285, 22)

* C/1998 M2 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 12
Appearing at dawn. It was 16.4 mag on Mar. 12, as bright as the ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  22 46.82   45 22.7   4.194   3.603    48   16.7     22.8  56.0   4:19 (232, 27)  
Apr. 10  22 59.30   46 51.2   4.235   3.648    48   16.8     22.1  55.1   4:08 (230, 28)

* C/1998 W3 ( LINEAR )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
It will be around 17 mag until May. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   6 13.27   45 15.5   5.175   5.105    80   17.1      3.0 282.3  19:48 (122, 62)  
Apr. 10   6 11.79   45 20.1   5.307   5.120    73   17.2      1.7 294.0  19:55 (121, 55)

* 93P/Lovas 1

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
Fading rapidly. It was observed much brighter, about 14 mag, in March visually. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   7 13.35   29 12.8   2.100   2.376    93   17.2     20.7 114.1  19:48 ( 76, 72)  
Apr. 10   7 23.56   28 14.1   2.225   2.419    88   17.5     21.2 113.0  19:55 ( 80, 67)

* P/1999 D1 ( Hermann )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
This April is the last chance. It will be fainter than 19 mag and lower than 30 deg. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  11 31.63  -14 13.6   0.751   1.723   159   17.4     22.5 214.6  22:45 (  0, 41)  
Apr. 10  11 26.38  -16 12.5   0.795   1.747   152   17.6     17.9 209.7  22:12 (  0, 39)

* 134P/Kowal-Vavrova
No observations reported since last May. It appears at dawn. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  18 43.24  -19  5.1   2.570   2.799    92   17.5     13.5  77.8   4:19 (332, 31)  
Apr. 10  18 49.27  -18 44.9   2.502   2.821    97   17.5     11.6  75.6   4:08 (335, 32)

* (10199) 1997 CU26

 Image: 1999 Jan. 22
A Centaur asteroid. The perihelion passage is in 2004. It will keep the current brightness over 10 years after this. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   9 13.32    6  0.6  12.885  13.490   125   17.7      1.5 291.5  20:27 (  0, 61)  
Apr. 10   9 12.76    6  4.3  12.979  13.487   118   17.7      1.1 295.8  19:59 (  0, 61)

* 10P/Tempel 2

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
It will be brightening very slowly until late May. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  17  9.80   -7  6.1   1.487   2.110   114   17.9     15.2  76.1   4:19 (357, 48)  
Apr. 10  17 16.31   -6 39.2   1.382   2.069   119   17.7     13.5  72.7   4:05 (  0, 48)

* 60P/Tsuchinshan 2

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
It will be fainter than 19 mag and lower than 30 deg in late May. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3   7 25.82   16 39.6   1.351   1.786    97   17.7     28.1 102.0  19:48 ( 43, 66)  
Apr. 10   7 39.50   15 56.7   1.418   1.796    94   17.9     29.5 102.4  19:55 ( 51, 63)

* 105P/Singer Brewster
Not yet been observed in this return, although the perihelion passage in on Apr. 6. Now is the chance to observe it for the first time. It will be 17.5 mag in May and June. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  17 43.01  -14 32.6   1.505   2.033   106   18.0     19.5  70.3   4:19 (347, 40)  
Apr. 10  17 51.25  -13 44.2   1.439   2.033   111   17.9     17.4  65.5   4:08 (350, 41)

* C/1998 M3 ( Larsen )

 Image: 1999 Mar. 22
It was 18.1 mag on Feb. 22, as bright as the ephemeris. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  16 38.31   24 43.8   5.553   6.065   116   18.1     14.7 331.6   3:55 (  0, 80)  
Apr. 10  16 34.36   26 13.4   5.510   6.080   120   18.0     15.1 326.9   3:24 (  0, 81)

* (5145) Pholus

 Image: 1999 Jan. 30
A Centaur asteroid. The perihelion passage is in 1991. It will keep 18 mag until around 2000. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  14 20.12   14  6.9  13.126  14.001   150   18.3      3.2 301.0   1:37 (  0, 69)  
Apr. 10  14 18.75   14 17.8  13.123  14.020   152   18.3      3.3 296.5   1:08 (  0, 69)

* 135P/Shoemaker-Levy 8
It will locate higher than 50 deg as 18.5 mag until May. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Apr.  3  11 18.94   -1  7.2   2.094   3.043   157   18.6      9.9 305.4  22:32 (  0, 54)  
Apr. 10  11 15.54   -0 28.5   2.118   3.027   149   18.5      8.4 309.1  22:01 (  0, 55)

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