Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2009 Jan. 3: South)

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Updated on January 25, 2009
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Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. 35 deg in the Southern Hemisphere.
Azimuth indicates 0 for south, 90 for west, 180 for north, 270 for east.

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* C/2007 N3 ( Lulin )

Appearing in the morning sky. Now it is 7.4 mag (Dec. 29, Marco Goiato). It is expected to reach to 5 mag in February. It keeps observable in the excellent condition long time around the highlight until spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  15 58.81  -19 38.1   1.776   1.218    40    7.7   3:05 (287, 10)  
Jan. 10  15 53.59  -19 23.4   1.596   1.213    49    7.4   3:13 (281, 18)  

* 85P/Boethin

It was expected to reach up to 7 mag and to be observable in good condition in winter. However, this comet has not been observed since 1986. It was not detected, fainter than 20 mag on Dec. 1 (Takaaki Oribe). It seems much fainter than expected. The condition of this apparition is good. It keeps observable for a long time until 2009 early summer both in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  23 52.92    5  3.9   0.881   1.174    77    7.5  21:03 (113, 21)  
Jan. 10   0 23.23    8 32.4   0.898   1.199    79    7.9  21:01 (116, 19)  

* 144P/Kushida

It has brightened much faster than expected. Now it is so bright as 8.8 mag (Dec. 29, Maik Meyer). Very large and visible through binoculars. It keeps bright as 9 mag locating high in the evening sky, observable in good condition until February. Then it keeps observable for a long time until early summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   3 31.14   15 46.4   0.613   1.464   131    9.2  21:03 (173, 39)  
Jan. 10   3 40.50   15 39.2   0.631   1.452   126    9.0  21:01 (168, 38)  

* 210P/2008 X4 ( Christensen )

First return of a bright new periodic comet discovered by SOHO spacecraft in 2003. Now it was re-discovered by STEREO-B spacecraft. Appearing in the morning sky. Now it is bright as 10.1 mag (Jan. 4, Juan Jose Gonzalez), but fainter than originally expected by 1 or 2 mag. It keeps observable in good condition while fading gradually after this.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  16 59.84  -16  7.1   0.466   0.612    27    9.1   3:05 (293, -4)  
Jan. 10  16 34.14  -12  8.4   0.519   0.691    41   10.2   3:13 (281,  6)  

* C/2006 W3 ( Christensen )

Brightening very rapidly, faster than expected. It is already so bright as 10.0 mag (Dec. 30, Maik Meyer). It is expected to reach to 8 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)  
Jan.  3  21 59.88   44 53.1   3.636   3.595    79   10.0  21:03 (129,-23)  
Jan. 10  22  2.86   42 56.7   3.700   3.563    74   10.0  21:01 (126,-26)  

* C/2008 A1 ( McNaught )

It reached to 6.3 mag in September in the southern sky (Sept. 4, Marco Goiato). Now it is still bright as 9.2 mag (Dec. 28, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will turn to appear in the morning sky in early January. Then it keeps observable in the northern sky while fading gradually. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  18 55.49   23  4.2   2.386   1.842    45   10.0   3:05 (275,-49)  
Jan. 10  19  9.19   26  8.1   2.433   1.924    48   10.3   3:13 (267,-46)  

* C/2006 OF2 ( Broughton )

Now it is bright as 9.8 mag (Dec. 28, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps observable in good conditioni as bright as 10 mag until January. Then, it keeps visible visually for a long time until May when it becomes low in the evening at 13 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   6  7.16   56 12.5   1.841   2.709   145   10.3  23:14 (180, -1)  
Jan. 10   6  1.97   54 32.8   1.887   2.743   143   10.4  22:41 (180,  1)  

* C/2007 G1 ( LINEAR )

It brightened up to 11.5 mag in summer (Aug. 4, Marco Goiato). It keeps bright at 12 mag for a long time until 2009 spring. However, it is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere now. It will appear in the northern sky again in 2009 autumn, but it will be fainter than 15 mag and will keep locating very low after that. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time until it fades out.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  18  3.37  -68 18.0   3.281   2.695    46   12.4   3:05 (340, 22)  
Jan. 10  18 32.12  -70 20.3   3.251   2.709    48   12.4   3:13 (341, 24)  

* C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring )

Already bright as 12.9 mag, and visible visually (Dec. 28, Marco Goiato). It is extremely low in the Northern Hemisphere now, but observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It is expected to brighten up to 10 mag from late 2009 to early 2010. Because the comet moves in the southern sky for a long time, it keeps impossible or very hard to observe in the Northern Hemisphere until 2009 September. But after 2009 October, it is observable at 10 mag for a while in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time while brightening until 2009 June when it brightens to 11 mag. But it becomes unobservable around and after the brightest time.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   5 35.47  -53  6.9   3.422   3.754   102   12.7  22:41 (  0, 72)  
Jan. 10   5 29.26  -52 10.5   3.373   3.698   101   12.6  22:08 (  0, 73)  

* C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught )

It reached to 10.9 mag in May (May 11, Marco Goiato). It is fading slowly. Now it is 13.5 mag (Dec. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps bright as 12-14 mag for a long time after this until 2009 summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  15 45.93    4 58.2   3.816   3.332    53   12.9   3:05 (265, -1)  
Jan. 10  15 54.65    6  5.6   3.775   3.371    58   13.0   3:13 (260,  4)  

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

An large outburst occured on Sept. 21, and it became so bright as 11.3 mag (Juan Antonio Henriquez Santana). The total brightness reached up to 10.3 mag in October (Oct. 11, Maik Meyer). The dust coma still keeps visible, and it is bright as 11.8 mag still now (Dec. 26, Marco Goiato). The dust coma got diffuse up to 9 arcmin. In addition, another outburst occured in mid December, and now the central part looks bright as 11.6 mag, well condensed (Dec. 28, Marco Goiato).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   8  8.27   23 20.9   5.146   6.093   163   13.4   1:19 (180, 32)  
Jan. 10   8  4.80   23 26.9   5.122   6.095   170   13.4   0:48 (180, 32)  

* 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Now it is about 13.8 mag (Dec. 20, Marco Goiato), already visible visually. It will be brightening gradually after this, and reach to 12-13 mag in 2009 winter and spring. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time until 2009 May.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  22 52.86  -10 44.7   1.674   1.421    57   13.9  21:03 ( 90, 18)  
Jan. 10  23 10.55   -8 21.4   1.674   1.383    55   13.8  21:01 ( 90, 15)  

* 22P/Kopff

Now it is 14.8 mag, brightening as expected (Dec. 2, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be bright at 9-10 mag for a long time from spring to autumn in 2009.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  15 25.80  -14 47.3   2.580   2.086    49   14.1   3:05 (278, 14)  
Jan. 10  15 41.89  -15 39.9   2.481   2.046    53   13.8   3:13 (276, 19)  

* C/2008 T2 ( Cardinal )

Now it is 14.4 mag, and visible visually (Nov. 30, Alan Hale). It locates near by Polaris until December, and observable all night. It will brighten gradually after this, and reach to 9-10 mag in June. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until May when it becomes brightest. But it will never be observable again after that. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable until April. But after that, it will be observable while fading gradually.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   0 54.63   81 46.5   2.048   2.590   112   14.2  21:03 (173,-29)  
Jan. 10   1 13.85   79 27.1   1.986   2.513   111   14.0  21:01 (171,-27)  

* 19P/Borrelly

It reached up to 9.6 mag in summer (Aug. 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 13.5 mag (Dec. 6, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable and fading in the morning sky after this. It will be visible visually for some more time.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  13 33.50   28 17.3   1.938   2.215    92   14.0   3:05 (226,  9)  
Jan. 10  13 40.71   29  9.7   1.918   2.265    97   14.1   3:13 (221, 12)  

* 6P/d'Arrest

It reached up to 8.5 mag in September (Sept. 24, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Diffuse object expanding a large coma. It is still bright as about 12.2 mag (Dec. 21, Marco Goiato). However, it will fade out very rapidly after this. It will be fainter than 18 mag in February.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   1  6.76  -16  7.3   1.840   2.032    86   14.4  21:03 (106, 48)  
Jan. 10   1 18.09  -14  8.6   1.957   2.082    83   15.0  21:01 (105, 44)  

* C/2005 L3 ( McNaught )

It had been bright and visible visually around 13 mag from spring to autumn in 2008. It will be getting higher after this, and will be visible visually at 14 mag again.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  15 18.21   21 16.7   6.433   6.145    68   14.8   3:05 (247, -5)  
Jan. 10  15 18.69   22  3.0   6.355   6.166    74   14.8   3:13 (242,  1)  

* C/2007 B2 ( Skiff )

It brightened up to 12.7 mag in 2008 spring (Apr. 12, Marco Goiato). However, it has already faded down to 14.9 mag (July 22, Mitsunori Tsumura). It will never be observable again in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not observable now also in the Southern Hemisphere, but it will appear again in the morning sky at 15 mag in January.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  17  7.42  -41 40.7   4.082   3.260    29   14.9   3:05 (314, 11)  
Jan. 10  17 21.87  -42 25.5   4.071   3.289    32   14.9   3:13 (312, 15)  

* 116P/Wild 4

Now it is 15.3 mag (Nov. 30, Yuji Ohshima). It was expected to be observable at 12-13 mag for a long time from January to July. But actually, it is much fainter. It seems to reach only up to 14 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  10  3.83   17  8.0   1.764   2.559   135   15.1   3:05 (183, 38)  
Jan. 10  10  2.99   17 20.8   1.682   2.536   142   14.9   2:45 (180, 38)  

* 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh

Now it is 16.4 mag (Dec. 19, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be observable at 15-16 mag in good condition until spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   9 45.94   20 53.6   2.818   3.630   140   15.4   2:56 (180, 34)  
Jan. 10   9 43.55   21 21.2   2.754   3.625   147   15.4   2:26 (180, 34)  

* 68P/Klemola

Now it is 14.5 mag (Dec. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be unobservable soon.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  20 32.43  -14 19.2   2.615   1.769    24   15.4  21:03 ( 66, -8)  
Jan. 10  20 52.30  -13 29.4   2.632   1.763    22   15.5  21:01 ( 66,-10)  

* 65P/Gunn

Now it is 15.8 mag (Dec. 11, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will brighten up to 12-13 mag in 2010 summer. It reaches to 14.5 mag in 2009 spring, and keeps observable in good condition until 2009 summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  12 32.11    8 47.6   3.085   3.375    98   15.6   3:05 (228, 33)  
Jan. 10  12 35.64    8 47.5   2.966   3.354   104   15.5   3:13 (220, 37)  

* 205P/2008 R6 ( Giacobini )

It had been lost for 112 years sincd 1896, but re-discovered by Koichi Itagaki and Hiroshi Kaneda on Sept. 10. It should be bright temporarily in outburst now. However, it became somewhat brighter in November than October. It still keeps bright as 12.6 mag (Nov. 22, Seiichi Yoshida). It keeps locating high in the evening sky for a while after this.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   0 37.63   -7  4.9   1.764   1.917    83   15.9  21:03 (110, 37)  
Jan. 10   0 51.67   -5 49.2   1.872   1.957    80   16.2  21:01 (109, 34)  

* 59P/Kearns-Kwee

Now it is 16.2 mag (Oct. 27, Gustavo Muler). It will be observable at 16 mag in good condition from autumn to winter.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   2  5.93   25 22.0   1.821   2.406   114   15.9  21:03 (153, 24)  
Jan. 10   2 11.47   25 10.3   1.887   2.396   109   16.0  21:01 (148, 22)  

* C/2006 U6 ( Spacewatch )

Now it is 15.8 mag (Dec. 5, Ken-ichi Kadota). It should have reached up to 14.5 mag in summer in the southern sky, but it is already fading. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this. It is finally appearing in the morning sky also in the Northern Hemisphere soon. It keeps observable while the comet will be fading slowly after this.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  12 21.40  -27 49.6   3.267   3.352    86   16.0   3:05 (267, 58)  
Jan. 10  12 21.40  -27 12.1   3.199   3.399    93   16.0   3:13 (260, 65)  

* 204P/2008 R5 ( LINEAR-NEAT )

At the discovery in 2001, it became much brighter after the perihelion passage. In this apparition, although it was so faint as 20 mag in early September, it has already brightened rapidly up to 17.2 mag (Dec. 20, J. M. Ruiz). It will reach up to 16 mag in January, and will be observable in good condition.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   8 39.03   19 47.1   1.013   1.951   155   16.1   1:49 (180, 35)  
Jan. 10   8 36.49   20 40.5   0.996   1.959   163   16.1   1:19 (180, 34)  

* C/2008 J1 ( Boattini )

Diffuse comet, but it brightened up to 9.8 mag on July 7 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading, but still visible visually at 14.8 mag (Dec. 20, Jose Carvajal). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable until 2009 spring when the comet becomes faint. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   2 25.84   60  3.3   2.118   2.756   120   16.4  21:03 (169, -7)  
Jan. 10   2 34.55   56 55.1   2.224   2.818   117   16.8  21:01 (166, -4)  

* 77P/Longmore

Now it is 17.6 mag (Nov. 23, Catalina Sky Survey). It will be observable at 15 mag in good condition in spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  12 31.95   15 54.0   2.236   2.612   101   16.6   3:05 (223, 27)  
Jan. 10  12 36.45   15 25.4   2.131   2.592   106   16.4   3:13 (216, 31)  

* C/2007 U1 ( LINEAR )

It reached up to 14 mag from September to November, and became visible visually. But it is already fading. It has faded down to 16.0 mag (Dec. 28, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will get lower in the evening sky in January.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  23 51.17   11 60.0   3.641   3.610    80   16.5  21:03 (117, 15)  
Jan. 10  23 48.66   11 42.5   3.803   3.635    72   16.6  21:01 (112, 10)  

* C/2008 R3 ( LINEAR )

Now it is 16.1 mag (Dec. 23, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be fading slowly after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in March.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  22  0.49   29  4.2   2.106   1.970    68   16.6  21:03 (115,-15)  
Jan. 10  22 22.14   29 53.2   2.158   1.992    67   16.7  21:01 (116,-16)  

* 61P/Shajn-Schaldach

It reached up to 13.7 mag and became visible visually (Nov. 6, Juan Jose Gonzalez). However, it is already fading. It has faded down to 16.0 mag (Dec. 20, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be fainter than 18 mag in February.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   3  8.20    8 38.5   1.594   2.294   123   16.8  21:03 (163, 45)  
Jan. 10   3 11.62    9 15.6   1.684   2.314   117   17.0  21:01 (156, 43)  

* P/2008 Y3 ( McNaught )

It keeps observable at 17.5 mag until spring. But it locates low in the Northern Hemispere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   8 50.85  -22 17.2   3.775   4.434   126   17.4   2:01 (180, 77)  
Jan. 10   8 47.25  -23  3.8   3.729   4.434   130   17.3   1:30 (180, 78)  

* 2001 TX16

Peculiar asteroid moving along a cometary orbit. It will be observable around 17 mag in good condition for a long time until May. It will fade out very rapidly after May.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  13 36.04   -0 18.1   1.434   1.598    80   17.4   3:05 (248, 28)  
Jan. 10  13 49.52   -1 19.3   1.409   1.631    83   17.4   3:13 (245, 33)  

* 211P/2008 X1 ( Hill )

Now it is 17.4 mag (Dec. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable in good condition at 17.5-18 mag until March.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   4 59.96    6 35.5   1.605   2.494   147   17.5  22:06 (180, 48)  
Jan. 10   4 55.90    7 43.7   1.635   2.480   141   17.5  21:35 (180, 47)  

* 188P/2007 J7 ( LINEAR-Mueller )

It was observed as bright as 14-15 mag in 2007 autumn. Now it is 18.1 mag (Nov. 21, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable in good condition for a while. It will be fainter than 18 mag in Feburary.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   8  7.09   33 48.0   2.590   3.533   160   17.5   1:18 (180, 21)  
Jan. 10   8  1.05   34  1.0   2.598   3.559   165   17.5   0:44 (180, 21)  

* 209P/2008 X2 ( LINEAR )

Now it is 17.9 mag (Dec. 27, J. M. Ruiz). It will brighten rapidly and will be observable at 16 mag in March and April. It moves southwards very fast after early April, and will be unobservable very soon in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  10 31.61   43 48.4   0.834   1.656   131   17.9   3:05 (187, 11)  
Jan. 10  10 46.10   47  6.1   0.748   1.589   132   17.6   3:13 (183,  8)  

* C/2008 X3 ( LINEAR )

Now it is 17.4 mag (Dec. 23, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable at 17.5-18 mag until February. But it is moving southwards, and getting lower in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  12 16.60   -3 35.6   1.798   2.157    97   17.6   3:05 (234, 45)  
Jan. 10  12 11.15   -6 39.8   1.734   2.197   104   17.6   3:13 (225, 53)  

* P/2008 QP20 ( LINEAR-Hill )

It brightened rapidly and became brighter than expected. It reached up to 16.1 mag in November (Nov. 17, A. Sanchez). But it is fading now. It has already faded down to 17.2 mag (Dec. 27, A. Klotz, F. Kugel, C. Rinner).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   2 13.24   26  5.8   1.146   1.814   116   17.7  21:03 (155, 24)  
Jan. 10   2 24.84   26 10.1   1.221   1.835   112   17.9  21:01 (152, 23)  

* P/2008 L2 ( Hill )

It brightened rapidly, and reached to the maximum after the perihelion passage. It was visible visually at 14.8 mag on Sept. 29 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.3 mag (Dec. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   1 25.19    5 33.1   2.264   2.607    99   17.7  21:03 (131, 36)  
Jan. 10   1 32.83    5 26.3   2.381   2.635    93   17.9  21:01 (127, 33)  

* P/1999 XN120 ( Catalina )

Now it should be brightest. But it has not been recovered yet. It was observed only around the perihelion at the discovery in 1999. If it was bright temporarily in outburst, it can be much fainter than this ephemeris in this apparition. Josef Mueller reported it was 19.2 mag on Dec. 16, 2007, but it was not confirmed. It was not detected, fainter than 19.2 mag on Dec. 20 (James R. Schofer).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   6 16.50   24 30.7   2.337   3.312   171   17.7  23:23 (180, 31)  
Jan. 10   6 11.47   24 22.6   2.361   3.314   162   17.8  22:50 (180, 31)  

* P/2008 Q2 ( Ory )

It passed near by earth in October. It brightened more rapidly than expected, and it reached up to about 13.7 mag in November and became visible visually (Nov. 24, Marco Goiato). It will fade out rapidly after this. However, it was still visible as 16.8 mag on Jan. 1 (Ken-ichi Kadota).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   3 32.08   21 18.1   0.766   1.608   133   17.9  21:03 (174, 33)  
Jan. 10   3 42.06   22  2.7   0.842   1.646   128   18.4  21:01 (169, 32)  

* 200P/2008 L1 ( Larsen )

Although it was extremely faint as 20 mag in June, it brightened much faster than expected and reached up to 17.1 mag (Oct. 30, P. C. Sherrod). However, it will fade out rapidly after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in January.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   0 54.04   10 54.3   3.133   3.349    94   17.9  21:03 (128, 27)  
Jan. 10   0 59.45   11  1.1   3.241   3.357    88   18.0  21:01 (124, 24)  

* 33P/Daniel

Now it is 17.5-18.0 mag (Nov. 9, Michael Jager). It keeps observable at 18 mag in good condition until February.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3  11 42.33   33 41.1   1.917   2.521   116   17.9   3:05 (203, 17)  
Jan. 10  11 45.32   34 45.0   1.881   2.547   122   18.0   3:13 (196, 18)  

* 17P/Holmes

Great outburst occured in 2007 October, and it bacame a naked eye comet of 2 mag. It kept so bright as 5.5 mag still in 2008 spring (Apr. 30, Carlos Labordena), but it was extremely faint and difficult to see. The size was so large, the diameter was larger than 60 arcmin. It will become observable in good condition in this autumn and winter again. The extremely faint large diffuse glow may be detected with a best sky condition, around 5-6 mag with a diameter of 1 or 2 degrees. Mitsunori Tsumura detected a possible glow of Comet Holmes on Nov. 4. Current brightness of the central core is 17.8 mag (Oct. 31, Ken-ichi Kadota), much brighter than pre-outburst brightness still now.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Jan.  3   9  8.25   26 10.2   3.289   4.167   149   18.5   2:19 (180, 29)  
Jan. 10   9  3.11   26 22.3   3.264   4.189   157   18.5   1:46 (180, 29)  

* 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. It was so faint as 19.4 mag around the perihelion passage in 2008 spring (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)  
Jan.  3  11 51.66   18  4.2   3.874   4.326   111   21.5   3:05 (212, 30)  
Jan. 10  11 53.10   18 30.6   3.788   4.332   117   21.5   3:13 (203, 33)  

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