Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2007 Sept. 1: South)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on September 17, 2007
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Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. 35 deg in the Southern Hemisphere.

C/2006 VZ13 ( LINEAR ) It reached to 7.2 mag on July 14 (Maik Meyer). It will be fading gradually after this. Now it is 9.0 mag (Aug. 13, Carlos Labordena). It is not observable already in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemipshere, it keeps observable bright as 9-10 mag in the evening sky until early September. After conjunction with Sun, it will appear in the morning sky in late October at 13 mag, then it keeps observable while fading gradually. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will appear again at 14 mag in the very low sky at dawn in mid November. But it will be fading while keeping extremely low. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 12 39.08 -14 46.4 1.679 1.077 37 9.6 19:04 ( 85, 19) Sept. 8 12 35.40 -17 26.0 1.832 1.121 32 10.0 19:09 ( 78, 14) C/2007 F1 ( LONEOS ) It will approach down to 0.4 A.U. to the sun on Oct. 28, and it is expected to reach to 6 mag. However, it was much fainter than expected recently, 17.5 mag on June 17 (Michael Jager) and 18.1 mag on July 25 (Luca Buzzi). The condition in the Northern Hemisphere is very hard. It locates extremely low, slightly over the horizon in the morning sky, from late September to mid October, then it will never be observable again. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will appear in the evening sky in early November, then it keeps observable while fading gradually, although it will not locate very high. It is expected to appear at 7 mag, but it can be much fainter actually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 11 1.63 28 11.7 2.253 1.354 20 13.6 19:04 (109,-24) Sept. 8 11 12.83 28 11.6 2.100 1.229 22 13.0 19:09 (106,-28) C/2006 XA1 ( LINEAR ) It reached to 13.2 mag in last spring (May 12, Carlos Labordena). But now it is not observable. In the Southen Hemisphere, it will be observable again at 15 mag in November. But in the Northern Hemisphere, it will never observable again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 10 41.76 -2 15.5 2.860 1.878 10 13.4 19:04 ( 79,-11) Sept. 8 10 56.82 -5 2.2 2.883 1.905 11 13.5 4:46 (283,-10) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Now it is bright as 14.9 mag (Aug. 2, Vitali Nevski). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 6 14.18 30 3.8 6.296 5.943 65 13.8 4:56 (215, 15) Sept. 8 6 18.06 30 6.1 6.195 5.945 71 13.8 4:46 (212, 16) C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught ) It will reach to 11 mag in 2008 spring. It will keep bright for a long time, however, it keeps moving in the southern sky for a while after this. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until 2008 summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will appear at 13 mag in November in a short time, but very low and hard to observe. However, it will be visible visually at 11 mag in the evening sky from March to June in 2008. Then it becomes unobservable again. But it will appear in the morning sky again at 13 mag at the end of 2008, then it keeps bright and observable for a while. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 7 57.15 -30 20.9 4.609 4.113 54 14.3 4:56 (285, 36) Sept. 8 8 6.50 -31 13.1 4.535 4.065 56 14.2 4:46 (285, 38) P/2007 H1 ( McNaught ) Now it is bright and visible visually at 13.8 mag (July 21, Bob King). It will be observable in very good condition at 14 mag until autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 0 20.25 -8 1.7 1.328 2.283 154 14.2 1:42 (180, 63) Sept. 8 0 18.13 -9 15.1 1.308 2.286 161 14.2 1:13 (180, 64) C/2006 K4 ( NEAT ) Now it is 15.4 mag (June 12, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will reach to 14.5 mag in summer. It moves in the southen sky, and it is observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. However, it will never be observable again in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 17 22.10 -57 22.2 2.925 3.302 102 14.5 19:04 ( 8, 67) Sept. 8 17 10.83 -57 24.3 3.025 3.285 95 14.6 19:09 ( 21, 65) C/2006 OF2 ( Broughton ) It is already bright and visible visually at 14.0 mag (Aug. 8, Alan Hale). It will reach to 10.5 mag and will be observable in good condition in 2008 autumn. It keeps observable in good condition for a long time while the comet is getting brighter slowly. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 21 33.91 -8 24.4 3.613 4.591 163 14.7 22:52 (180, 63) Sept. 8 21 29.35 -8 20.7 3.596 4.537 156 14.6 22:20 (180, 63) C/2005 L3 ( McNaught ) Now it is bright and visible visually at 13.2 mag (July 14, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be getting lower and lower after this, and will be unobservable in November. But it will be observable at 14 mag at high location again in 2008 spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 16 52.01 -1 9.4 5.532 5.681 93 14.9 19:04 (157, 54) Sept. 8 16 49.57 -1 8.3 5.645 5.673 86 14.9 19:09 (144, 50) 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. No visual observations have been reported after it was observed as 12.6 mag on July 6 (Walter Ruben Robledo). It seems to have already faded down to 15 mag. 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) Sept. 1 13 55.34 -61 38.0 4.034 3.981 79 15.0 19:04 ( 35, 46) Sept. 8 14 7.20 -60 58.8 4.193 4.064 75 15.2 19:09 ( 36, 43) 17P/Holmes Now it is bright as 14.5 mag (July 16, Michael Jager). It will keep bright as 14-15 mag and observable in good condition for a long time until autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 3 42.58 41 11.6 1.931 2.252 94 15.3 4:56 (182, 14) Sept. 8 3 49.73 42 41.0 1.881 2.274 99 15.4 4:44 (180, 12) C/2006 S5 ( Hill ) Now it is 16.0 mag (Aug. 12, Ken-ichi Kadota), brightening as expected. It will reach to 14 mag in next winter, and will be observable in good condition. It is expected to be visible visually. It keeps observable in good condition for a long time until 2008 spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 6 10.34 27 51.7 3.086 2.827 65 15.5 4:56 (216, 17) Sept. 8 6 22.46 27 36.3 2.983 2.802 69 15.3 4:46 (215, 18) C/2007 E1 ( Garradd ) It passed near by the earth in early April, and reached to 8.7 mag (Apr. 10, Werner hasubick). Then it faded down to 11.8 mag on May 26 (Seiichi Yoshida), and became too low to observe in the evening. Now it is not observable. Although it has been unobservable for a long time, it has appeared in the morning sky finally. Now it is 15.2 mag (Aug. 10, Ken-ichi Kadota), fading as expected. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 6 52.73 27 31.1 2.294 1.931 56 15.4 4:56 (224, 12) Sept. 8 6 45.82 28 3.0 2.209 2.001 64 15.6 4:46 (219, 15) 93P/Lovas 1 Brightening rapidly. Now it is 15.2 mag (Aug. 17, Tony Farkas). It is observable at 13.5 mag in good condition from autumn to winter. It is brightening rather faster than this ephemeris, so it can be visible visually soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 1 2.30 14 52.7 1.154 2.017 137 16.0 2:24 (180, 40) Sept. 8 1 2.08 16 23.8 1.080 1.982 143 15.6 1:56 (180, 39) C/2006 U6 ( Spacewatch ) Now it is 15.9 mag (Sept. 8, Ken-ichi Kadota), brightening as expected. It will reach to 13.5 mag in the southern sky in 2008 spring and summer. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this. However, it is only observable until autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, when the comet brightens up to 15 mag. Then it will be observable again at the end of 2008, when the comet will already fade down to 15 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 1 34.45 -23 58.4 3.039 3.823 135 15.7 2:56 (180, 79) Sept. 8 1 31.67 -26 31.3 2.950 3.772 139 15.6 2:26 (180, 81) 188P/2007 J7 ( LINEAR-Mueller ) First return of a new periodic comet discovered in 1998 at 14 mag. Now it is 16.4 mag (Aug. 14, Y. Sugiyama), brightening as expected. It keeps observable at 16 mag until autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 0 24.39 1 37.4 1.722 2.655 151 15.9 1:46 (180, 53) Sept. 8 0 20.66 1 47.2 1.675 2.642 159 15.8 1:15 (180, 53) 50P/Arend Now it is 17.5 mag (Aug. 9, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable in good condition until it fades out in 2008 spring. It is expected to reach to 15 mag in autumn, however, recent reports are fainter than this ephemeris by 1 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 2 30.98 25 43.6 1.365 2.001 114 16.0 3:52 (180, 29) Sept. 8 2 35.89 28 5.5 1.293 1.985 118 15.8 3:30 (180, 27) C/2006 K1 ( McNaught ) Although it had been observable only in the Southern Hemisphere for a long time, now it becomes observable also in the Northern Hemisphere. It keeps 16 mag until winter. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 3 51.66 -28 57.7 4.078 4.439 104 16.0 4:56 (212, 83) Sept. 8 3 52.01 -29 12.7 4.018 4.444 108 16.0 4:46 (180, 84) C/2007 G1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 16.6 mag (July 24, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will reach to 12 mag in 2008 summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable almost all time until that while the comet is brightening gradually. However, it goes to the southern sky and will never be observable again in the Northern Hemisphere after that. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 16 32.75 22 20.9 5.056 5.075 85 16.1 19:04 (161, 30) Sept. 8 16 32.56 20 48.4 5.090 5.023 80 16.0 19:09 (152, 29) C/2005 EL173 ( LONEOS ) It reached up to 15.5 mag in late 2006 and early 2007. Now it is fading. It locates somewhat low in the south, but it is observable at 16.5 mag in autumn. It will be too low to observe in early 2008, when the comet will be fainter than 17.5 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 4 37.10 -25 51.6 3.990 4.186 94 16.2 4:56 (240, 74) Sept. 8 4 31.44 -27 12.2 3.915 4.209 100 16.2 4:46 (229, 79) 8P/Tuttle It will reach to 6 mag in January, and will be observable in good condition. Now it is 18.3 mag (Aug. 2, Vitali Nevski). In the Northern Hemipshere, it keeps observable until early February, when it fades down to 7.5 mag. In the Southern Hemipshere, it is not observable until late December. But after that, it keeps observable until it fades out. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 2 15.37 79 47.1 2.053 2.248 87 16.6 3:37 (180,-25) Sept. 8 2 36.20 81 50.7 1.948 2.178 88 16.2 3:30 (180,-27) C/2006 L2 ( McNaught ) Now it is 16.5 mag (Apr. 9, Ken-ichi Kadota). No observations have been reported since June. 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) Sept. 1 6 1.46 65 18.4 3.941 3.784 73 16.3 4:56 (195,-14) Sept. 8 6 0.25 65 39.7 3.910 3.844 78 16.3 4:46 (193,-14) C/2006 K3 ( McNaught ) Now it is 16.5 mag (July 25, Katsumi Yoshimoto). Before the perihelion passage, it kept 16.5-17 mag and hardly brightened. After the perihelion passage, it seems hardly to be fading. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 4 10.45 42 43.7 2.941 3.099 89 16.4 4:56 (187, 12) Sept. 8 4 5.95 45 12.4 2.875 3.142 95 16.3 4:46 (182, 10) 128P/Shoemaker-Holt 1 Appearing in the moring sky. No observations have been reported since January. But it must have already brightened up to 16.5 mag. It tends to be brightest after the perihelion passage. It will be observable in good condition at 16 mag until winter. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 6 33.38 20 22.2 3.474 3.100 60 16.4 4:56 (225, 20) Sept. 8 6 42.32 20 5.6 3.395 3.106 64 16.3 4:46 (223, 22) C/2007 O1 ( LINEAR ) It was observed at 16 mag in July. It will be fading gradually after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in October. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 19 3.93 -24 55.9 2.307 3.017 126 16.4 20:23 (180, 80) Sept. 8 19 7.06 -25 43.2 2.405 3.039 120 16.5 19:59 (180, 81) C/2006 W3 ( Christensen ) It is expected to reach to 11 mag in 2009 summer. Because it moves in the northern sky, it keeps observable until it becomes brightest in the Northern Hemipshere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 6 34.38 52 4.8 7.075 6.725 65 16.7 4:56 (206, -6) Sept. 8 6 36.11 52 46.1 6.927 6.676 71 16.6 4:46 (203, -5) C/2005 S4 ( McNaught ) Now it is 17.1 mag (June 12, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be observable at 16.5-17 mag in good condition in summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 19 30.49 17 34.8 5.200 5.859 126 16.8 20:49 (180, 37) Sept. 8 19 25.22 17 26.2 5.277 5.861 121 16.8 20:16 (180, 38) 191P/2007 N1 ( McNaught ) It will reach to 16 mag in autumn, and will be observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 2 55.88 3 23.2 1.410 2.050 114 16.9 4:17 (180, 52) Sept. 8 3 1.78 3 14.6 1.349 2.048 120 16.8 3:56 (180, 52) C/2007 M3 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 16.4 mag (July 24, Ken-ichi Kadota). It is observable at 16-17 mag in 2007 summer. It will be observable brighter than 18 mag also in 2008, from spring to summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 17 13.72 -6 35.0 3.156 3.469 99 16.9 19:04 (164, 61) Sept. 8 17 6.65 -7 26.5 3.296 3.469 91 17.0 19:09 (145, 58) C/2006 M1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 17.5 mag (July 16, Michael Jager). It is outside of Jupiter's orbit. So it keeps 17 mag for a long time until winter. 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) Sept. 1 3 12.22 35 25.8 3.637 3.975 102 17.0 4:34 (180, 20) Sept. 8 3 13.02 34 53.4 3.564 4.003 108 17.0 4:07 (180, 20) 110P/Hartley 3 Although it is so faint as 18 mag still in August, it will brighten very rapidly in a short time and reach to 15 mag in October. It will be observable at 14.5-15 mag in an excellent condition from October to February. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 4 53.35 32 23.7 2.594 2.657 82 17.3 4:56 (198, 20) Sept. 8 5 2.78 32 43.5 2.495 2.643 87 17.0 4:46 (196, 20) 189P/2007 N2 ( NEAT ) It passed very close to the earth in July and reach to 15.5 mag (July 16, Michael Jager). But it will fade out rapidly after August, and will be fainter than 18 mag in September. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 19 15.83 31 30.1 0.419 1.257 117 17.1 20:36 (180, 23) Sept. 8 19 33.70 32 5.7 0.467 1.289 117 17.4 20:26 (180, 23) 108P/Ciffreo Appearing in the morning sky, and observed at 16.7 mag as bright as expected (July 24, E. Guido, G. Sostero). It will be getting higher after this. But it will be fading gradually and becomes fainter than 18 mag in October. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 6 58.39 26 46.7 2.144 1.773 55 17.1 4:56 (225, 12) Sept. 8 7 17.06 27 1.6 2.110 1.790 57 17.2 4:46 (225, 11) 173P/2005 T1 ( Mueller 5 ) It will be at opposition and observable in good condition in winter. It will reach to 16 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 7 18.21 21 31.5 4.937 4.357 49 17.4 4:56 (232, 13) Sept. 8 7 24.95 21 30.6 4.845 4.349 55 17.3 4:46 (230, 14) 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh It will reach to 15 mag in 2009 and 2010. In this year, it is observable at 16.5 mag in good condition in autumn and winter. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 5 18.81 21 55.5 4.264 4.166 77 17.5 4:56 (208, 28) Sept. 8 5 23.27 22 3.5 4.151 4.157 83 17.5 4:46 (204, 29) 117P/Helin-Roman-Alu 1 It reached to 13.5 mag and became visible visually in 2005 and 2006. Now it has gone far away. But it is observable at 17.5 mag until November. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 2 30.14 8 50.5 3.460 4.058 119 17.6 3:52 (180, 46) Sept. 8 2 29.23 8 45.0 3.389 4.073 126 17.6 3:23 (180, 46) 136P/Mueller 3 Now it is 18.8 mag (July 26, Filip Fratev). It will reach to 17.5 mag until autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 0 2.27 -8 10.5 2.007 2.974 159 17.6 1:24 (180, 63) Sept. 8 23 59.00 -8 58.2 1.982 2.970 166 17.6 0:54 (180, 64) P/2004 F3 ( NEAT ) It was observed bright as 14-15 mag in 2004 and 2005. Now it is close to the aphelion, but it will be observable at 17.5 mag in good condition in 2007 autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Sept. 1 3 24.65 6 52.3 4.377 4.774 107 17.8 4:46 (180, 48) Sept. 8 3 24.76 6 44.7 4.288 4.785 113 17.8 4:19 (180, 48)