Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2002 Sept. 21: South)

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 Updated on September 23, 2002
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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/2002 O4 ( Hoenig )
It is fading since Aug. 20 and it is about 8.5 mag now. The perihelion passage is on Oct. 1 and it keeps bright until November. However, it becomes low in September and October. In the Southern Hemishpere, it is not observable until late November. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  12 43.36   43 38.3   1.115   0.805    44    8.3     52.5 195.0  19:19 (125,-29)  
Sept.28  12 35.68   37 56.3   1.207   0.780    40    8.3     48.7 193.6  19:25 (115,-35)

* C/2002 O6 ( SWAN )
It rapidly faded and diffused in September. It will disappear soon. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  11 19.46   25 10.5   1.273   0.568    25    9.1     51.4 157.9   4:27 (255,-25)  
Sept.28  11 28.73   19 46.8   1.424   0.662    24   10.0     47.9 158.4   4:16 (259,-20)

* 46P/Wirtanen
Brightened very rapidly and reached to 10 mag. However, it will fade out rapidly after this. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   9 34.49   17 45.8   1.720   1.112    37   11.7     56.7 100.6   4:27 (248,  0)  
Sept.28  10  1.02   16 27.3   1.748   1.144    38   12.6     54.2 102.4   4:16 (251, -1)

* 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
It brightened about 1 mag after perihelion passage, and reached to 12 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   8 37.21   22 13.2   1.718   1.354    51   12.0     46.8  99.4   4:27 (236,  7)  
Sept.28   8 59.86   21 14.8   1.718   1.380    53   12.1     44.9 101.2   4:16 (238,  7)

* 22P/Kopff
It is very low in the evening sky. It will appear at dawn in next June at 15.5 mag and will be fading. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  14 20.75  -10 46.5   2.447   1.779    38   12.5     36.8 111.1  19:19 ( 90, 19)  
Sept.28  14 37.43  -12 18.1   2.454   1.750    36   12.4     38.0 110.0  19:25 ( 86, 16)

* C/2001 RX14 ( LINEAR )
Getting brighter as expected. It will be observable at 10 mag in the good condition for a long time from winter to next spring. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   7 44.22   49  5.5   2.627   2.495    71   13.1     29.2  83.6   4:27 (210, -5)  
Sept.28   8  5.07   49 24.3   2.524   2.451    74   12.9     29.4  85.3   4:16 (210, -6)

* 116P/Wild 4
It will be bright as 10-11 mag for a long time from winter to spring. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  10 48.92    9 38.1   3.269   2.335    17   13.3     30.7 113.1   4:27 (265,-10)  
Sept.28  11  2.26    8 12.8   3.223   2.318    21   13.2     30.9 113.5   4:16 (266, -9)

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
It seems to keep 12 mag recently. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  20 32.63  -18 38.5   5.132   5.805   128   13.3      2.3 275.0  20:32 (180, 74)  
Sept.28  20 31.77  -18 36.2   5.223   5.803   120   13.3      1.3 291.5  20:03 (180, 74)

* 28P/Neujmin 1
Stellar object. It will reach to 13 mag at the end of this year. In the northern hemisphere, it keeps low in the south after this. Akimasa Nakamura reported that it was so faint as 17.4 mag on July 31. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  16 13.89  -34  6.7   2.022   1.933    70   13.7     27.4  88.4  19:19 ( 78, 52)  
Sept.28  16 29.93  -33 59.4   2.039   1.887    66   13.6     29.6  87.7  19:25 ( 76, 49)

* C/2001 K5 ( LINEAR )
Strongly condensed. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  16 25.61   18 30.6   5.456   5.187    69   13.9      6.8  98.4  19:19 (135, 22)  
Sept.28  16 29.15   18 24.2   5.526   5.185    65   13.9      7.7  96.1  19:25 (129, 18)

* C/2000 SV74 ( LINEAR )
It is as faint as 15 mag by CCD. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  13 31.25   54 14.5   4.225   3.775    57   13.9     20.3 145.1  19:19 (139,-26)  
Sept.28  13 40.29   52 21.4   4.250   3.797    56   13.9     19.4 143.4  19:25 (136,-29)

* 154P/2002 Q4 ( Brewington )
Recovered as bright as expected on Aug. 26. However, it did not come to bright after this, and still keeps 16.5 mag. It will reach to 10-11 mag in the evening sky during winter and spring. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  19 54.83  -32  8.8   1.627   2.257   116   14.2     11.3 359.2  19:54 (180, 87)  
Sept.28  19 55.67  -30 47.8   1.657   2.209   109   13.9     12.3  15.2  19:27 (180, 86)

* 92P/Sanguin
It became a bit brighter than expected, reached to 14 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  21 52.51   -0  8.5   0.866   1.808   150   14.0     23.3 157.7  21:52 (180, 55)  
Sept.28  21 57.32   -2 34.9   0.895   1.808   144   14.0     23.3 149.7  21:29 (180, 58)

* C/2002 Q2 ( LINEAR )
New comet. Moving within 1 deg with C/2002 Q3 ( LINEAR ). Because it is extremely diffused, it is hard to observe. It will fade out quickly after this. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  19  1.06   27  1.2   0.751   1.400   104   14.0    139.7 168.9  19:19 (175, 29)  
Sept.28  19 14.09   12  4.1   0.817   1.441   104   14.3    119.7 167.6  19:25 (167, 43)

* C/2001 HT50 ( LINEAR-NEAT )
It will be observable in good condition at 11-12 mag in early 2003 and 2003 autumn. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   9 59.67   -2  2.7   4.870   4.014    28   14.6      4.6 131.7   4:27 (268,  6)  
Sept.28  10  1.14   -2 24.7   4.758   3.967    33   14.5      4.3 138.7   4:16 (266, 10)

* C/2002 Q3 ( LINEAR )
New comet. Moving within 1 deg with C/2002 Q2 ( LINEAR ). Because it is extremely diffused, it is hard to observe. It will fade out quickly after this. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  18 58.14   28  4.3   0.755   1.396   104   14.5    139.6 168.3  19:19 (175, 28)  
Sept.28  19 11.85   13  5.4   0.817   1.436   103   14.8    120.7 167.2  19:25 (167, 42)

* C/2001 N2 ( LINEAR )
It is fading now, but it will be observable again at 15 mag in 2003 after the conjunction. It was getting diffused these days. It was a bit fainter than this ephemeris in late August, around 15-16 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  15 17.24   -8  0.5   3.191   2.690    51   14.7     13.3 190.1  19:19 (101, 29)  
Sept.28  15 16.54   -9 29.2   3.311   2.701    45   14.8     12.3 183.3  19:25 ( 94, 22)

* 65P/Gunn
After conjunction, it will appear at dawn at 14 mag in January. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  13  8.44   -1 12.5   3.740   2.812    19   15.1     24.8 116.4  19:19 ( 87, -1)  
Sept.28  13 18.91   -2 29.5   3.746   2.793    15   15.0     25.2 115.9  19:25 ( 83, -5)

* 57P/du Toit-Neujmin-Delporte
It brightened rapidly and reached to 14 mag. But it has already started to fade out. Total 20 nuclei have been discovered. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  20 23.26  -16  9.8   1.006   1.794   126   15.2     17.2  88.4  20:23 (180, 71)  
Sept.28  20 32.15  -16  2.7   1.072   1.812   121   15.6     19.4  85.5  20:04 (180, 71)

* C/2002 Q5 ( LINEAR )
New comet. Although it will keep the current magnitude for a while, it will not be observable in November. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  17 40.62   16 36.5   1.211   1.532    87   15.8     69.8 223.9  19:19 (151, 33)  
Sept.28  17 20.71   11 14.1   1.339   1.474    76   15.8     54.6 220.1  19:25 (134, 31)

* C/2001 Q4 ( NEAT )
It will be naked eye object in 2004. It is only 16 mag now and locates low in the Northern Hemisphere. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   2 56.89  -35 40.3   6.396   7.018   124   16.0      9.8 210.1   2:59 (  0, 89)  
Sept.28   2 53.76  -36 38.8   6.308   6.958   127   15.9     10.1 215.7   2:28 (  0, 88)

* 30P/Reinmuth 1
It will be observable in good condition at 14 mag in winter. No observations have been reported since 2001 November. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   7 53.17   17 27.0   2.342   2.051    60   16.5     32.5  97.5   4:27 (232, 18)  
Sept.28   8  8.91   16 54.8   2.257   2.028    63   16.4     32.6  98.6   4:16 (232, 19)

* 2002 RP120
New asteroid with a cometary orbit. It will be as bright as 15.5 mag in October. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   4 18.11   12 43.3   1.912   2.479   112   16.8     31.7 296.7   4:20 (180, 42)  
Sept.28   4  2.67   14 27.2   1.783   2.475   122   16.6     39.3 293.2   3:37 (180, 41)

* C/2000 CT54 ( LINEAR )
Fading slowly. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   1 13.95   -1 11.1   4.295   5.248   159   16.9     10.2 274.1   1:16 (180, 56)  
Sept.28   1  9.13   -1  5.9   4.314   5.295   166   16.9     10.5 274.2   0:44 (180, 56)

* P/2002 Q1 ( Van Ness )
New periodic comet. It will go southwards while fading out after this. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   5  8.49  -15  7.8   1.164   1.673   100   17.1     36.6 144.3   4:27 (208, 68)  
Sept.28   5 17.87  -18 34.2   1.164   1.703   103   17.1     33.8 149.7   4:16 (208, 72)

* C/2002 R3 ( LONEOS )
New comet. It will be observable at 16-17 mag until the end of 2003. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   4 12.07   21 34.0   4.012   4.497   112   17.3     13.9 272.4   4:14 (180, 33)  
Sept.28   4  4.41   21 36.4   3.863   4.467   121   17.2     16.6 270.4   3:39 (180, 33)

* C/2002 K4 ( NEAT )
It will be fainter than 18 mag in November. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  18 13.77   26 51.0   2.583   2.843    94   17.3      9.3 258.9  19:19 (164, 26)  
Sept.28  18  9.88   26 38.5   2.691   2.859    89   17.4      6.1 253.7  19:25 (155, 24)

* 89P/Russell 2
It was brighter than expected. But it is already fading and will be fainter than 18 mag in late October. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  23 19.05  -21 25.0   1.658   2.616   157   17.4     10.8 277.6  23:17 (180, 76)  
Sept.28  23 14.03  -21 10.1   1.710   2.639   152   17.5      9.7 286.9  22:45 (180, 76)

* C/2002 J5 ( LINEAR )
It is a far object. It will be 17 mag all through in 2003 and 2004. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  18 39.89   13 48.9   6.010   6.286   101   17.4      6.1 249.5  19:19 (167, 40)  
Sept.28  18 37.44   13 33.8   6.092   6.266    95   17.4      4.9 244.4  19:25 (156, 38)

* 155P/2002 R2 ( Shoemaker 3 )
Recovered 3 mag fainter than expected. Although it will be at the peak in 2003 January and be observable in good condition, it may reach to 15 mag at best. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   6 41.12   20  9.4   1.982   2.030    78   17.6     32.2  90.8   4:27 (216, 26)  
Sept.28   6 57.13   20  3.6   1.887   1.998    81   17.4     32.2  91.9   4:16 (215, 26)

* C/2002 C2 ( LINEAR )
It locates high until October at 17.5 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   5  2.94    5 26.8   3.254   3.601   102   17.5     19.4 197.7   4:27 (194, 49)  
Sept.28   4 59.62    3 13.7   3.170   3.629   109   17.5     21.2 203.1   4:16 (187, 51)

* C/2001 U6 ( LINEAR )
It locates high until December at 17.5 mag. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  18 45.33   72 12.8   4.249   4.421    93   17.6     22.5 181.0  19:19 (177,-17)  
Sept.28  18 45.90   69 33.6   4.237   4.426    94   17.6     23.0 177.0  19:25 (174,-15)

* C/1997 BA6 ( Spacewatch )
It keeps brightness around 18 mag still now. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21  21  1.60   15 33.5   8.275   9.011   134   17.8      5.0 247.5  21:00 (180, 39)  
Sept.28  20 59.54   15 19.7   8.385   9.055   129   17.9      4.4 242.6  20:31 (180, 40)

* 118P/Sheomaker-Levy 4
It will be 17 mag in the evening sky until 2003 spring, then it will be in conjunction with the sun. After the perihelion passage, it will appear at dawn at 15.5 mag, then it will fade out. 
Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1    Mot.(') p.a.  Best Time(A, h)  
Sept.21   0 19.17   -4 44.5   1.926   2.924   172   18.0     13.0 234.3   0:22 (180, 60)  
Sept.28   0 14.09   -5 37.2   1.898   2.894   172   17.9     13.3 236.1  23:44 (180, 61)

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