Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2007 Feb. 17: South)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on February 18, 2007
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Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. 35 deg in the Southern Hemisphere.

C/2006 P1 ( McNaught ) Excellent great comet, few times in a lifetime, for southern people. It reached to -5.5 mag on Jan. 14 and 15, brighter than Venus, and visible even in daytime. Then it appeared in the evening sky in the Southern Hemisphere and many people enjoyed a fantastic view of a beautiful great comet, a enormous curving tail with so many striae over 50 degrees. Now it is observable both in the evening and morning. It has already faded down to 4.8 mag (Feb. 16, Alexandre Amorim). In the Southern Hemisphere, It keeps observable almost all night until the comet has gone. It will never be observable again in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 21 51.37 -59 13.4 1.418 1.038 47 5.5 4:04 (333, 16) Feb. 24 22 7.98 -61 10.5 1.513 1.186 51 6.3 4:12 (332, 19) 185P/2007 A3 ( Petriew ) First return of a new bright periodic comet observed at 9 mag in 2001. It is brightening very rapidly. It was 16.1 mag on Jan. 11 (Filip Fratev), but it brightened up to 11.7 mag on Feb. 14 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Fainter than expected by 1.5 mag, but unexpectedly, it is brightening to be visible visually. However, the condition of this apparition is bad. It keeps locating very low in the evening until early May. It reaches to 12 mag at best, and it will start fading after mid March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 23 43.41 -0 30.8 1.692 0.944 28 12.5 20:23 ( 86, -5) Feb. 24 0 15.40 1 30.4 1.667 0.938 29 12.4 20:12 ( 90, -3) 4P/Faye It reached up to 9.3 mag between October and November (Oct. 27, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It had been observable in excellent condition. But it is fading now. It has already faded down to 11.8 mag (Feb. 14, Juan Jose Gonzalez). However, it keeps observable after this until May when it fades down to 16 mag. It will keep visible visually until March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 4 5.97 10 6.0 1.567 1.903 93 12.7 20:23 (141, 36) Feb. 24 4 19.59 11 1.7 1.663 1.936 90 13.0 20:12 (141, 35) C/2006 L2 ( McNaught ) Now it is 12.2 mag (Dec. 28, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It has been 12 mag for half a year since last June. But it will start fading after March. It will be too faint to see visually in April. However, the fading is slow. The comet will be fainter than 18 mag in 2008. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable until that time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 19 18.29 55 46.0 2.290 2.263 75 12.8 4:04 (218,-24) Feb. 24 19 48.94 59 39.6 2.329 2.303 76 13.0 4:12 (214,-25) 2P/Encke It will reach to 6 mag at the perihelion passage in mid April. It has already started brightening very rapidly. Now it is 13.3 mag (Feb. 14, Juan Jose Gonzalez), already visible visually. It is observale while brightening gradually in the evening sky in the Northern Hemisphere. However, it will locate very low after this. It will be lower than 20 degree soon. It will be 11.5 mag in mid March, when the altitude becomes lower than 10 degree. After conjunction with the sun, it appears in the morning sky at 12 mag in June. But it locates only 20 degree high at most, and it will be fading rapidly. In the Southern Hemisphere, it appears in the morning sky at 8 mag in May, then it will be bright and observable for a while. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 0 7.81 8 11.8 1.926 1.295 37 14.0 20:23 ( 97, -5) Feb. 24 0 21.13 9 29.2 1.869 1.190 34 13.0 20:12 ( 97, -7) C/2006 M4 ( SWAN ) It suddenly brightened in outburst on Oct. 24, and reached up to 4.2 mag on Oct. 25 (Maik Meyer). But it had faded down to 10.5 mag on Jan. 11 (Carlos Labordena). Now it is not observable. It will appear in the morning sky again at 15-16 mag in May. Then it keeps observable until it becomes fainter than 18 mag in autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 22 2.99 -7 25.4 3.423 2.440 4 13.4 20:23 ( 64,-21) Feb. 24 22 10.43 -7 41.0 3.514 2.529 4 13.7 4:12 (292,-16) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 In this season, it has been bright as 12-13 mag and visible visually since it appeared in the morning sky in early July. Another outburst occurred on Jan. 29. It is visible bright as 13.0 mag still now (Feb. 12, Carlos Labordena). It will be getting lower in the evening sky after this. It will be too low to see in April. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 3 46.79 28 38.3 5.749 5.884 92 13.6 20:23 (147, 18) Feb. 24 3 49.13 28 32.9 5.863 5.886 86 13.6 20:12 (144, 16) C/2005 YW ( LINEAR ) Now it is 13.1 mag (Feb. 14, Masayuki Suzuki). It has been 13 mag for a long time since last autumn. However, it will be fading gradually after this. It is observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere, although it is already not observable in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 15 11.36 -63 50.7 2.031 2.169 84 13.9 4:04 (343, 59) Feb. 24 15 29.31 -65 50.0 2.022 2.203 86 14.0 4:12 (348, 58) P/2006 HR30 ( Siding Spring ) Now it is 14.4 mag (Feb. 12, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Almost asteroidal. It did not brighten at all since early September. Although the slight cometary activity was detected in late July, it became completely stellar soon. Its tail became visible again in late October, however, it turned to be stellar again soon. Finally it has passed the perihelion, keeping almost asteroidal. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps good condition after this. It keeps locating high until spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 3 59.25 39 0.9 0.850 1.385 97 14.0 20:23 (155, 10) Feb. 24 4 36.10 35 16.8 0.915 1.432 97 14.2 20:12 (157, 15) C/2003 WT42 ( LINEAR ) It has been visible at 13.5 mag for a long time since 2005 autumn until 2006 spring. Now it is fainter than last year by 1 mag, however, it is still visible visually at 14.2 mag (Dec. 22, Seiichi Yoshida). It keeps observable in excellent condition until April. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 13 12.43 23 17.3 4.973 5.694 133 14.4 3:27 (180, 32) Feb. 24 13 10.81 23 32.4 4.936 5.715 138 14.4 2:58 (180, 32) C/2006 L1 ( Garradd ) When it approached to the earth between from November to early December, it reached up to 8.5 mag as a very large diffuse object with a diameter larger than 10 arcmin (Nov. 23, Peter Bus). However, now it is fading rapidly. It has already faded down to 14.7 mag (Feb. 11, Mitsunori Tsumura). It will set down in the evening sky at 17 mag in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 1 17.31 34 57.8 2.414 2.211 66 15.1 20:23 (128, -8) Feb. 24 1 18.18 34 40.5 2.604 2.278 60 15.7 20:12 (125,-10) C/2006 K3 ( McNaught ) It finally bcame observable also in the Northern Hemisphere in the evening sky. Now it is at peak. But it is 16.5 mag now, much fainter than expected. It has not brightened well since discovery in last May at 17.5 mag. It will set down in the evening sky in March. But it will appear again in the morning sky at 17 mag in July. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 2 29.29 -23 31.8 2.777 2.515 64 15.2 20:23 ( 88, 41) Feb. 24 2 30.99 -19 47.5 2.860 2.509 59 15.3 20:12 ( 90, 36) 96P/Machholz 1 Not yet observed in this return. But it must be brihtening very rapidly towards the perihelion passage on Apr. 4. However, it is not observable until April. It will appear in the morning sky at 8 mag in mid April in the Northern Hemisphere, or at 10 mag in late April in the Southern Hemisphere. Then the condition will get better rapidly. However, the comet will fade out rapidly. It will be fainter than 14 mag in mid May, too faint to see visually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 21 46.40 -37 35.8 2.058 1.242 25 16.3 4:04 (316, 2) Feb. 24 22 10.80 -35 39.4 1.908 1.110 26 15.4 4:12 (313, 2) C/2006 XA1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 15.9 mag (Jan. 10, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable at 15 mag in the evening sky until May. It is not observable around the perihelion passage in conjunction with the sun. Then it moves to the southern sky, and it will be unobservable in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 3 1.99 46 56.8 2.440 2.621 89 15.6 20:23 (150, -2) Feb. 24 3 13.12 45 57.6 2.461 2.563 84 15.5 20:12 (149, -2) C/2005 L3 ( McNaught ) Although it had been unobservable since last autumn, now it is appearing again in the morning sky. It will be observable at 14.5 mag from spring to summer both in 2007 and 2008. The condition is good, and it may be visible visually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 18 59.42 -14 35.5 6.760 6.087 43 15.6 4:04 (275, 18) Feb. 24 19 0.52 -14 5.2 6.648 6.068 50 15.5 4:12 (270, 25) C/2005 EL173 ( LONEOS ) Now it is 15.3 mag (Jan. 7, Ken-ichi Kadota). It is observable at 15.5-16 mag until spring. But, in the Northern Hemisphere, it locates somewhat low at 20-30 degree high. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 5 5.93 -30 10.0 3.632 3.889 97 15.7 20:23 (105, 75) Feb. 24 4 57.55 -28 51.5 3.726 3.887 91 15.8 20:12 (101, 70) C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught ) Now it is 16.3 mag (Jan. 9, Mitsunori Tsumura). It will reach to 11 mag in 2008 spring. It keeps moving in the southern sky until that, so it keeps locating very low in the Northern Hemisphere. It keeps observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable at 16 mag in the evening low sky until March, then it will be unobservable. It will be observable again in a short time in the very low sky at dawn in November at 13 mag. After 2008 March, it will be visible visually at 11 mag in the morning low sky. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 4 49.58 -36 3.0 5.388 5.521 92 15.9 20:23 ( 81, 73) Feb. 24 4 50.06 -35 16.2 5.396 5.470 89 15.8 20:12 ( 82, 70) C/2006 V1 ( Catalina ) It will be brightening gradually at the high altitude until 2007 spring, while it brightens up to 16 mag. Then it keeps 15.5-16 mag for one year and a half until 2008 summer. However, because the comet moves southwards, it is only observable until 2007 June in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 10 55.92 3 8.5 2.945 3.903 163 16.5 1:11 (180, 52) Feb. 24 10 50.75 2 50.4 2.874 3.855 170 16.4 0:38 (180, 52) C/2005 E2 ( McNaught ) It was still visible visually at 14.2 mag on Oct. 31 (Seiichi Yoshida). However, it has already faded down to 16.3 mag (Jan. 30, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps a good contition until spring, while the comet will be fading gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 9 25.29 26 43.2 3.562 4.517 163 16.6 23:36 (180, 28) Feb. 24 9 20.23 26 45.5 3.657 4.583 156 16.7 23:03 (180, 28) C/2002 VQ94 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 16.8 mag (Dec. 29, Katsumi Yoshimoto). It is outside of Jupiter's orbit. So it keeps 17 mag for a long time until 2007 summer. It keeps locating high and observable in good condition for a long time after this because it moves in the northern sky. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 14 48.75 39 13.8 6.795 7.215 111 17.1 4:04 (192, 15) Feb. 24 14 46.97 39 34.7 6.750 7.230 115 17.1 4:12 (184, 15) 84P/Giclas It tends to become brightest about 4 months after the perihelion passage. In this apparition, it was 17.6 mag in late July around the perihelion passage (July 23, Filip Fratev), however, it brightened up to 14.1 mag and became visible visually on Dec. 23 (Seiichi Yoshida). But it will start fading after this. Although it keeps a good condition for a long time, it will be fainter than 18 mag in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 5 29.32 21 52.4 1.871 2.458 115 17.1 20:23 (169, 32) Feb. 24 5 34.40 22 17.3 1.986 2.493 109 17.4 20:12 (165, 31) P/2006 U5 ( Christensen ) It reached to 16.5 mag at best in December and January. But now it is already fading. It will be fainer than 18 mag in April. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 6 10.92 28 6.2 1.628 2.334 124 17.2 20:23 (180, 27) Feb. 24 6 14.28 27 49.9 1.702 2.338 118 17.3 20:12 (177, 27) C/2004 D1 ( NEAT ) It reached to 16 mag in early 2006. Now it is 17.3 mag (Dec. 2, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be fading very slowly from 17 mag to 18 mag until 2007 summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps locating high. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 14 24.20 32 41.8 5.210 5.722 116 17.2 4:04 (188, 22) Feb. 24 14 23.49 33 5.4 5.175 5.748 121 17.3 4:10 (180, 22) 99P/Kowal 1 It was observed at 17.5 mag in 2006 spring. It will be observable at 17 mag in good condition in 2007 spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 14 14.66 -13 10.9 4.260 4.720 111 17.3 4:04 (196, 67) Feb. 24 14 15.06 -13 16.5 4.162 4.721 118 17.3 4:02 (180, 68) 87P/Bus It was observed at 19 mag in mid December. It brightened up to 18 mag on Feb. 15. It will reach to 17 mag in spring, and will be observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 11 8.18 3 42.6 1.428 2.385 161 17.4 1:23 (180, 51) Feb. 24 11 4.10 4 15.6 1.386 2.366 169 17.3 0:52 (180, 51) 173P/2005 T1 ( Mueller 5 ) Now it is 16.8 mag (Jan. 9, Mitsunori Tsumura). The perihelion passage is in 2008. It will be observable for several years after this at around 17 mag. But it may fade out rapidly just after the perihelion passage. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 4 14.14 13 52.5 4.407 4.621 96 17.4 20:23 (145, 34) Feb. 24 4 16.31 14 20.9 4.504 4.609 89 17.4 20:12 (142, 32) P/2005 SB216 ( LONEOS ) It has been observed in good condition at 17 mag. But it will be fading after this, and it becomes fainter than 18 mag in April. It will be observable in good condition at 18 mag again one year later. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 4 8.94 47 42.1 3.513 3.819 100 17.5 20:23 (160, 3) Feb. 24 4 14.53 47 13.8 3.603 3.819 95 17.6 20:12 (158, 3) 76P/West-Kohoutek-Ikemura It was expected to reach to 13 mag in winter. But actually, it was 15.7 mag at best (Dec. 5, Ken-ichi Kadota), much fainter than expected. Now it is fading rapidly. It will be fainter than 18 mag soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 7 49.48 62 40.4 1.073 1.824 124 17.6 22:01 (180, -8) Feb. 24 7 52.03 62 22.9 1.148 1.856 120 17.9 21:36 (180, -7) C/2006 W3 ( Christensen ) It will reach to 11 mag in 2009 summer and autumn. It keeps observable in good condition until 2009 summer in the Northern Hemisphere. But after the maximum brightness, it goes to the southen sky. It will be 14 mag in 2008 summer and visible visually. Then it keeps visible visually for one year. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 5 44.95 48 58.9 7.569 8.056 116 17.7 20:23 (176, 6) Feb. 24 5 41.08 48 49.0 7.625 8.009 109 17.6 20:12 (172, 6) C/2004 B1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 17.2 mag (Dec. 29, Katsumi Yoshimoto). It will keep good condition for a while after this, but it will be fading gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 16 55.06 42 20.4 4.560 4.638 88 17.9 4:04 (212, 2) Feb. 24 16 55.07 44 15.2 4.565 4.702 91 17.9 4:12 (206, 4) 184P/2007 A1 ( Lovas 2 ) It had been lost since its discovery in 1986. But it was rediscovered on Jan. 9 at 16-17 mag. The condition is good in this return, and it was expected to reach to 14 mag from autumn to winter. But actually, it is fainter than originally expected, and it reached to 17 mag at best. Now it is 17.4 mag (Feb. 11, Mitsunori Tsumura). It will be fainter than 18 mag soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 0 52.92 6 43.9 2.079 1.579 46 18.1 20:23 (102, 5) Feb. 24 1 13.27 8 45.4 2.150 1.615 45 18.2 20:12 (104, 4) 52P/Harrington-Abell It was in major outburst unexpectedly and reached to 10.5 mag in its last appearance in 1999. However, it is faint in this apparition, 17 mag at best. It is already fainter than 18 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 17 14 1.89 -20 45.9 1.874 2.425 112 18.6 4:04 (192, 76) Feb. 24 14 2.08 -21 30.5 1.831 2.464 118 18.6 3:49 (180, 77)