Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2008 Mar. 29: North)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on March 31, 2008
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Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. 35 deg in the Northern Hemisphere.

17P/Holmes Great outburst occured on Oct. 24, and it bacame a naked eye comet of 2 mag. It still keeps so bright as 5.2 mag on Mar. 28 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). It is still visible with naked eyes in the dark sky, however, now it is extremely faint and difficult to see. It was completely stellar just after the outburst. Then the coma had spread out and now it looks like a huge nebula. The coma diameter has increased up to about 90 arcmin in December and January. But now it is going away from the earth, and the diameter reduced to about 70 arcmin. Now it is getting lower and lower rapidly in the evening sky. The altitude will be lower than 30 degrees in late April. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 4 31.34 36 52.7 3.398 3.097 64 5.1 19:44 (109, 46) Apr. 5 4 42.27 36 39.4 3.512 3.127 59 5.2 19:50 (111, 41) 8P/Tuttle It passed near by Earth in early January, and it became a bright large object at 5.4 mag (Jan. 3, Seiichi Yoshida). It was visible with naked eyes. Now it is fading. But the fading is slower than originally predicted, and it is still bright as 8.6 mag (Mar. 29, Marco Goiato). However, it will fade out rapidly after this, and will be fainter than 13 mag in late April. It has already moved away towards the southern sky, and it is no longer observable in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable until it fades out. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 4 40.09 -59 52.7 1.150 1.378 79 9.1 19:44 ( 24,-14) Apr. 5 5 3.02 -61 0.3 1.188 1.444 82 9.6 19:50 ( 25,-16) C/2008 C1 ( Chen-Gao ) New bright comet discovered by two Chinese amateurs. Now it is very bright as 9.5 mag (Mar. 29, Maik Meyer). Diffuse object with a weak condensation. It keeps 10 mag until May. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition in the evening sky until mid May. But then it moves southwards, and it will never be observable again. In the Southern Hemisphere, it appears in late March, then it keeps observable until it fades out. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 4 38.05 36 57.3 1.336 1.295 65 10.1 19:44 (108, 47) Apr. 5 5 3.66 31 33.3 1.372 1.275 62 10.0 19:50 (102, 44) 46P/Wirtanen It brightened up to 8.3 mag on Feb. 6 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading, but still bright as 10.6 mag (Mar. 29, Marco Goiato). However, it will fade out rapidly after this, and will be fainter than 13 mag in late April. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until July when it becomes fainter than 18 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 5 34.51 34 27.4 1.080 1.286 76 10.4 19:44 (101, 58) Apr. 5 6 10.24 35 6.0 1.142 1.338 76 10.9 19:50 (102, 59) C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught ) Now it is bright as 11.4 mag (Mar. 30, Marco Goiato). It will keep 11 mag for a long time until August. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, it had been locating extremely low for a long time, however, it will be getting higher gradually after March. But the altitude will never be higher than 30 degrees in the evening sky, and the comet will be unobservable in July. 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) Mar. 29 9 25.79 -39 26.9 2.253 2.938 124 11.2 20:57 ( 0, 16) Apr. 5 9 27.56 -36 41.2 2.242 2.915 123 11.2 20:31 ( 0, 18) C/2007 W1 ( Boattini ) It is brightening much faster than expected. It is already so bright as 9.8 mag (Mar. 30, Marco Goiato). It will pass 0.85 A.U. from the sun in late June, and it is expected to reach to 6 mag. Maybe it will become much brighter. In the Northern Hemipshere, it keeps observable in good condition for a long time after this, while the comet is brightening gradually. It is observable until around May 25, when the comet will be 7.5 mag. It will be unobservable for one and a half month around the perihelion passage. But it will appear in the morning sky again at 7 mag in early July, then it keeps observable after that while the comet is fading gradually. In the Southern Hemipsphere, it keeps observable all the period until the comet fades out, although it will be low in mid June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 12 20.29 -16 55.8 0.740 1.726 166 11.7 23:50 ( 0, 38) Apr. 5 12 7.16 -17 55.4 0.651 1.634 163 11.2 23:09 ( 0, 37) 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup Now it is 15.4 mag (Mar. 15, Mitsunori Tsumura). It brightened very rapidly, however, it is fainter than this ephemeris by 2 mag so far. However, this comet tends to be brightest after the perihelion passage. In the Northern Hemisphere, it had been low until March. But it will be getting higher after April. It may reach to 13 mag in April, and may be visible visually. By the way, one observation was reported that it was visible visually at 11.7 mag on Mar. 22 (Marco Goiato). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 18 48.71 -17 22.3 0.562 1.119 86 12.7 4:25 (327, 31) Apr. 5 19 13.18 -11 15.5 0.571 1.128 87 12.9 4:15 (322, 35) C/2006 OF2 ( Broughton ) It brightened up to 13.5 mag and became visible visually in 2007 autumn (Nov. 13, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will reach to 10.5 mag and will be observable in good condition in 2008 autumn. Now it is not observable. But it will appear in the morning sky at 12.5 mag in May, then it keeps observable, visible visually, brighter than 14 mag for one year until 2009 May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 23 34.25 13 29.5 3.989 3.051 17 12.8 4:25 (253, -1) Apr. 5 23 44.44 15 9.1 3.928 3.008 19 12.8 4:15 (253, 2) C/2008 A1 ( McNaught ) It is already visible visually at 13.5 mag (Mar. 7, Michael Mattiazzo). It is expected to be 7 mag in September. But it keeps moving in the southern sky, and it is unobservable for a while in the Northern Hemisphere. It will appear in the evening sky at 7 mag in late September, but it keeps locating in the evening low sky until the end of 2008 when it fades out down to 10 mag. Then it turns to appear in the morning sky, and it keeps observable in the northern sky after that while fading gradually. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable until late October after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 5 11.68 -38 1.6 2.931 2.869 76 12.9 19:44 ( 34, 6) Apr. 5 5 12.33 -37 6.8 2.905 2.789 73 12.8 19:50 ( 40, 2) C/2007 T1 ( McNaught ) It brightened up to 8.5 mag on Jan. 6 (Alexandre Amorim). Now it is fading gradually, but still bright as 11.4 mag (Mar. 23, Marco Goiato). It keeps observable while fading gradually until May. However, it will be hard to see visually soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 6 12.28 -11 11.4 1.774 1.974 85 12.8 19:44 ( 37, 36) Apr. 5 6 17.72 -6 53.2 1.963 2.060 81 13.2 19:50 ( 48, 36) 19P/Borrelly It will reach to 11 mag in summer. It must have already brightened up to 14 mag, but the comet was not observed recently. The condition in this apparition is bad. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps extremely low, or under the horizon, so it will not be observable. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable until August when it appears in the morning sky at 11 mag. After August, it keeps observable and fading in the morning sky. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 0 37.90 -17 16.6 2.763 1.863 20 13.7 19:44 ( 89,-29) Apr. 5 0 54.63 -15 2.8 2.712 1.815 21 13.4 4:15 (268,-30) C/2007 G1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 14.2 mag, already visible visually (Mar. 17, Alan Hale). It will be bright at 12 mag for a long time from 2008 spring to 2009 spring. However, it is only observable until August in the Northern Hemisphere because the comet moves southwards. It keeps observable for a long time in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 18 20.98 -5 22.5 3.372 3.565 92 13.7 4:25 (328, 45) Apr. 5 18 20.87 -6 5.8 3.212 3.519 99 13.5 4:15 (334, 46) C/2007 B2 ( Skiff ) Now it is visible visually at 14.4 mag (Mar. 5, Seiichi Yoshida). It will reach to 13.5 mag until July. It keeps observable in good condition for a long time until May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 12 25.97 4 48.6 2.309 3.300 171 13.7 0:01 ( 0, 60) Apr. 5 12 20.56 4 16.7 2.291 3.271 166 13.6 23:23 ( 0, 59) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 After an outburst on Dec. 29, some outbursts occured repeatedly until mid January. It became very bright as 10.4 mag on Jan. 15 (P. Clay Sherrod). Then it is fading gradually. But it is still bright as 12.7 mag on Mar. 5 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 5 54.74 28 41.3 6.096 6.009 80 13.8 19:44 ( 87, 60) Apr. 5 5 57.85 28 32.3 6.207 6.011 74 13.8 19:50 ( 92, 54) C/2006 U6 ( Spacewatch ) It was 15 mag on Jan. 14 (Michael Mattiazzo), brightening as expected. It will reach to 13.5 mag in the southern sky in spring and summer. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this. But in the Northern Hemisphere, it is already unobservable. 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) Mar. 29 2 29.44 -44 9.8 3.057 2.606 54 14.1 19:44 ( 50,-21) Apr. 5 2 47.14 -43 59.4 3.010 2.585 55 14.0 19:50 ( 52,-23) C/2007 K3 ( Siding Spring ) Appearing in the morning sky. It shoudl be already bright as 14.5 mag. It will be getting higher gradually after this, and will be observable at 14 mag in good condition from spring to summer. It will also be visible visually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 20 12.28 -16 42.4 2.245 2.071 67 14.4 4:25 (309, 20) Apr. 5 20 27.44 -14 53.6 2.176 2.061 69 14.3 4:15 (308, 21) C/2005 L3 ( McNaught ) Now it is 13.9 mag (Mar. 5, Seiichi Yoshida). It keeps observable visually at 14 mag at high location for a while. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 17 1.68 12 35.4 5.182 5.618 111 14.7 4:25 (354, 67) Apr. 5 16 56.80 13 51.5 5.094 5.623 117 14.6 4:03 ( 0, 69) C/2006 S5 ( Hill ) It brightned up to 13.4 mag on Jan. 4 (Seiichi Yoshida). Now it is fading, but still visible visually at 14.4 mag (Mar. 5, Seiichi Yoshida). It will be too low to observe in the evening sky at 16 mag in June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 7 53.22 13 38.6 2.384 2.869 108 15.0 19:44 ( 13, 68) Apr. 5 7 59.05 13 17.8 2.495 2.898 103 15.1 19:50 ( 29, 66) C/2003 T12 ( SOHO ) The return of a comet discovered in 2003 by SOHO spacecraft. It can be a short periodic comet with a period of about 4 years. If so, it is expected to return in 2008 spring. If it passes the perihelion in spring, it will be visible at 12-15 mag in the evening sky. But the period is quite uncertain with an error of several months. So we have to wait until it is re-discovered by chance. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 3 59.83 12 12.8 0.963 0.865 52 15.0 19:44 ( 84, 30) Apr. 5 4 51.16 14 59.1 1.004 0.973 58 15.8 19:50 ( 85, 35) C/2006 W3 ( Christensen ) It is already bright as 14.7 mag and visible visually (Mar. 5, Seiichi Yoshida). 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 Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 3 11.53 56 22.7 5.684 5.286 61 15.2 19:44 (138, 36) Apr. 5 3 13.59 56 9.3 5.717 5.238 56 15.2 19:50 (139, 32) 2005 WY3 Peculiar asteroid moving on a cometary orbit. Now it is brightest at 15.0 mag (Mar. 11, Katsumi Yoshimoto). It has passed the perihelion in late January, but still completely asteroidal. It will be going away from the sun after this, and will be fading after this. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable until July when it becomes fainter than 18 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 10 27.56 -7 37.7 0.995 1.921 148 15.3 21:59 ( 0, 48) Apr. 5 10 32.45 -4 17.1 1.050 1.950 143 15.5 21:36 ( 0, 51) C/2006 V1 ( Catalina ) It was observed at 16 mag in 2007 spring and summer. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps 15-16 mag and observable in good condition until summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again. No observations have been reported recently, and the current brightness is uncertain. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 19 56.58 -50 12.3 2.984 2.965 79 15.3 4:25 (332, -4) Apr. 5 20 8.16 -50 12.5 2.940 2.997 83 15.3 4:15 (333, -4) 124P/Mrkos Now it is 16.1 mag (Mar. 9, Ken-ichi Kadota), brightened as expected. It will reach to 16 mag from February to April, and will be observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 9 18.21 36 33.7 0.727 1.500 119 16.0 20:49 (180, 89) Apr. 5 9 17.38 30 46.9 0.746 1.487 115 16.0 20:21 ( 0, 85) 93P/Lovas 1 It reached to 12.7 mag on Dec. 4 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading slowly. But it is still bright and visible visually at 13.5 mag (Mar. 5, Seiichi Yoshida). However, it will be fading and getting lower very rapidly after April. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 5 6.12 32 13.1 2.096 1.993 70 16.1 19:44 ( 99, 52) Apr. 5 5 24.79 31 55.5 2.193 2.029 67 16.3 19:50 (101, 48) 79P/du Toit-Hartley Now it is 17.4 mag (Mar. 10, Mitsunori Tsumura). It will be observable at 16-17 mag from April to July. It will be fainter than 18 mag in August. It keeps locating in the evening sky all time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 7 12.85 20 30.3 0.872 1.419 98 16.2 19:44 ( 46, 70) Apr. 5 7 24.46 19 50.8 0.880 1.381 94 16.1 19:50 ( 55, 66) 110P/Hartley 3 It brightened up to 14.5 mag on Jan. 4 and became visible visually (Seiichi Yoshida). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.2 mag (Mar. 9, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be too low at 17 mag in June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 5 51.50 22 44.1 2.493 2.510 79 16.2 19:44 ( 78, 57) Apr. 5 6 1.78 22 23.0 2.583 2.516 74 16.3 19:50 ( 82, 52) C/2007 M2 ( Catalina ) Now it is 16.8 mag (Feb. 29, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps 16 mag for one year from 2008 spring to 2009 spring. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition while the comet is brightening until 2008 spring. But the comet moves southwards after that, and it will never observable after 2008 July. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 11 45.73 10 39.7 3.256 4.216 161 16.3 23:15 ( 0, 66) Apr. 5 11 36.66 10 6.6 3.260 4.184 154 16.3 22:39 ( 0, 65) 180P/2006 U3 ( NEAT ) Now it is 16.7 mag (Feb. 16, Ken-ichi Kadota), brightened as expected. It will be observable in good condition for a hile until spring. It will reach to 16.5 mag in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 10 29.50 35 47.3 1.722 2.498 131 16.6 22:00 (180, 89) Apr. 5 10 27.97 35 16.0 1.771 2.492 125 16.7 21:31 (180, 90) 197P/2008 E2 ( LINEAR ) It was recovered at 18.7 mag on Mar. 3, as bright as expected (R. E. Hill). Then it is brightening rapidly as expected, and already brightened up to 17.1 mag (Mar. 23, Catalina Sky Survey). It will reach to 15 mag in May. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until it fades out. In the Northern Hemisphere, the condition is bad. It will be too low to observe in mid May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 17 19.00 21 36.8 0.530 1.249 105 17.1 4:25 (335, 75) Apr. 5 17 46.12 19 27.2 0.467 1.205 104 16.7 4:15 (330, 73) 70P/Kojima Now it is 16.4 mag (Mar. 7, Ken-ichi Kadota), brightening as expected. It keeps observable at 16.5 mag in good condition until April. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 12 25.05 8 20.6 1.449 2.435 168 16.8 23:55 ( 0, 63) Apr. 5 12 20.24 8 50.5 1.491 2.464 162 16.9 23:23 ( 0, 64) 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh It will reach to 15 mag in 2009 and 2010. It had been observed at 16.5 mag for a while, but it will be getting lower in the evening sky after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 5 8.99 24 34.8 4.134 3.905 69 16.9 19:44 ( 88, 49) Apr. 5 5 15.17 24 45.2 4.223 3.896 64 16.9 19:50 ( 92, 44) C/2007 W3 ( LINEAR ) It will reach to 16 mag from May to July, and will be observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 23 28.61 68 55.9 2.140 1.966 66 17.1 4:25 (204, 29) Apr. 5 23 27.95 70 16.1 2.111 1.930 65 17.0 4:15 (203, 31) 65P/Gunn Now it is 17.2 mag (Mar. 8, Ken-ichi Kadota). Around the aphelion, but it is observable at 17 mag in good condition. It will reach to 13 mag in 2010. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 8 8.77 30 44.3 3.696 4.128 108 17.0 19:44 ( 11, 86) Apr. 5 8 9.41 30 29.5 3.782 4.112 102 17.1 19:50 ( 63, 81) C/2005 S4 ( McNaught ) It was observed at 16.5-17 mag in 2006 and 2007. Because it is a very distant comet, it is observable at 17 mag still in 2008 in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 19 47.97 29 9.8 6.361 6.121 71 17.4 4:25 (266, 53) Apr. 5 19 47.46 30 30.7 6.299 6.136 76 17.4 4:15 (266, 57) C/2007 T5 ( Gibbs ) It will be observable at 17.5 mag in good condition until May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 7 58.78 40 25.4 3.715 4.075 104 17.5 19:44 (155, 84) Apr. 5 8 1.20 40 39.5 3.807 4.069 98 17.5 19:50 (126, 79) C/2002 VQ94 ( LINEAR ) It had been observed at 16.5 mag for a long time from 2005 to 2007. Now it is fading. But it keeps observable at 17.5 mag in good condition for a long time until July. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 14 24.29 16 20.4 7.569 8.414 145 17.5 1:58 ( 0, 71) Apr. 5 14 21.02 16 22.5 7.562 8.439 149 17.5 1:28 ( 0, 71) C/2007 D1 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 17.7 mag (Dec. 15, Ken-ichi Kadota). Because it is a very distant comet, it keeps observable at 17.5-18 mag until 2009. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 10 58.79 2 39.0 8.024 8.946 156 17.5 22:29 ( 0, 58) Apr. 5 10 57.52 3 5.6 8.083 8.954 148 17.6 22:01 ( 0, 58) C/2007 Y1 ( LINEAR ) It will be fainter than 18 mag soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 7 54.93 20 4.5 2.892 3.342 108 17.8 19:44 ( 16, 75) Apr. 5 7 51.26 21 57.5 3.019 3.345 100 17.9 19:50 ( 47, 72) 173P/2005 T1 ( Mueller 5 ) It was observed bright at 16.5-17 mag from late 2006 to early 2007. However, it is fading after that, although it is getting closer to the sun. Now it is observable in good condition, but very faint at 19.4 mag (Mar. 10, Mitsunori Tsumura). This comet was observed so faint around the perihelion passage in the previous apparition at the discovery. It faded out before the perihelion passage again in this apparition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 29 7 29.26 28 54.6 3.915 4.220 100 19.5 19:44 ( 59, 79) Apr. 5 7 32.07 28 52.8 4.017 4.219 94 19.6 19:50 ( 74, 73)