Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2009 May 9: South)

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Updated on May 9, 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/2008 Q3 ( Garradd )

Now it is so bright as 8.2 mag (May 6, Marco Goiato). It was origianlly predicted to be 15 mag, but actually, it is much brighter than expected now. It looks very large with a diameter of 12 arcmin (May 3, Michael Jager). The condition is excellent in the Southern Hemisphere, and it keeps visible with binoculars until summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is only observable from early June to mid August in the evening low sky.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  20  1.47  -63 17.0   1.257   1.888   112    8.1   4:56 (  0, 62)  
May  16  18 48.55  -66 57.8   1.111   1.863   122    7.6   3:18 (  0, 58)  

* C/2008 T2 ( Cardinal )

It is already so bright as 8.9 mag (May 2, Seiichi Yoshida). It will reach to 8 mag in June. Now it is moving southwards very fast. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is getting lower very rapidly, and it will never be observable again after June. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this in the evening sky.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   6 25.57   22 44.1   1.773   1.321    47    8.8  18:36 (133, 16)  
May  16   6 41.27   18 45.4   1.781   1.280    44    8.6  18:32 (129, 17)  

* C/2006 W3 ( Christensen )

It is already so bright as 8.9 mag (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be observable at 8-10 mag in good condition for a long time until late autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  22 51.76   34 42.4   3.590   3.178    58    9.1   5:15 (211, 12)  
May  16  22 50.31   34 57.2   3.489   3.166    63    9.0   5:20 (204, 15)  

* C/2009 F6 ( Yi-SWAN )

Now it is bright as 9.2 mag (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps 9-10 mag for a while until July. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is getting lower in the evening sky, and will be too low to observe soon. But it will appear in the morning sky again at 12 mag in late August, then it will be fading slowly in the low sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable until August. But it keeps observable in good condition for a long time after August.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   4  2.03   50 29.4   1.959   1.275    35    9.0  18:36 (136,-24)  
May  16   4 35.97   47  6.7   2.037   1.281    31    9.1  18:32 (134,-20)  

* C/2009 G1 ( STEREO )

Now it is bright as 8.7 mag (May 6, Marco Goiato). It keeps 9-10 mag until June. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in a good condition for a long time. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  23 42.44  -22 43.5   1.221   1.186    63    9.2   5:15 (268, 45)  
May  16   0  9.15  -30 31.7   1.133   1.224    69    9.1   5:20 (277, 49)  

* 22P/Kopff

Now it is 9.0 mag, already so bright (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be bright at 9-10 mag for a long time until autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  20 58.48  -13 59.8   1.133   1.586    95    9.8   5:15 (203, 68)  
May  16  21 15.77  -13  4.9   1.085   1.580    97    9.7   5:20 (193, 68)  

* C/2009 E1 ( Itagaki )

It brightened rapidly, and it reached up to 7.5 mag on Apr. 5 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is appearing in the morning sky again. It is still very bright as 8.8 mag now (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be getting higher gradually after this, and it keeps observable until it has gone away. The comet will fade out rapidly, but it will be visible visually at 13 mag still in late May.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   0 34.21   30 58.5   1.467   0.889    36   10.6   5:15 (230,  1)  
May  16   0 19.05   30 59.9   1.411   0.994    44   11.5   5:20 (222,  8)  

* C/2007 N3 ( Lulin )

It passed near by the earth in late February, and it reached up to 4.9 mag (Feb. 23, Juan Jose Gonzalez). The coma extended up to 20 arcmin, and the anti-tail was clearly visible. Now it is fading rapidly. It has already faded down to 10.5 mag (Apr. 26, Marco Goiato). Because moving along the retrograde orbit, it will be lower rapidly in the evening sky. It will be too low to observe at 12 mag in late May.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   6 37.03   22 20.7   2.616   2.117    50   11.2  18:36 (135, 17)  
May  16   6 39.27   22 18.0   2.806   2.193    43   11.5  18:32 (131, 14)  

* C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring )

It has already brightened up to 10.7 mag (Apr. 26, Marco Goiato). It keeps as bright as 10-11 mag for a long time untio 2010 spring. It is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere now. But it will appear in the morning sky in early October, then it keeps observable at 10 mag in good condition for a long time. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is getting lower rapidly in the evening sky, and will be too low to observe in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   6 29.14  -15 54.6   3.176   2.820    60   11.3  18:36 (101, 42)  
May  16   6 39.75  -13 54.6   3.194   2.775    56   11.3  18:32 (101, 39)  

* 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

It has brightened very rapidly, faster than expected. Now it is so bright as 9.6 mag (Apr. 20, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be fading gradually after this. It will be too low to observe in the evening at 13 mag in late June.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   6  4.37   28  9.3   2.075   1.500    42   11.5  18:36 (133,  8)  
May  16   6 30.04   28  5.7   2.146   1.546    41   11.7  18:32 (134,  9)  

* 116P/Wild 4

Now it is very bright as 11.4 mag (Apr. 29, Marco Goiato). It keeps observable in good condition until May, then it keeps observable until July when it becomes too low in the evening sky, around 12-13 mag for a long time.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   9 43.35   16  0.7   1.916   2.232    94   12.7  18:36 (179, 39)  
May  16   9 51.39   15  5.0   1.983   2.222    89   12.8  18:32 (175, 40)  

* C/2006 OF2 ( Broughton )

It brightened up to 9.8 mag in December and January (Dec. 28, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading, but still bright as 12.4 mag (Apr. 28, Martin Lehky). It will be too low to observe in June. However, it will be observable in good condition again in winter at 15 mag. Then it may be still visible visually.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   7 25.01   29 56.5   3.876   3.489    60   12.9  18:36 (149, 17)  
May  16   7 33.75   28 57.6   4.010   3.540    55   13.1  18:32 (145, 16)  

* C/2007 G1 ( LINEAR )

It brightened up to 11.5 mag in last summer (Aug. 4, Marco Goiato). Although it is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition for a long time in the Southern Hemisphere. However, no visual observations have been reported since last summer. Recent CCD observations suggest that it is still visible visually around 12-13 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   4 37.32  -48 42.8   3.420   3.204    69   13.2  18:36 ( 51, 34)  
May  16   4 49.53  -46 45.9   3.482   3.244    68   13.3  18:32 ( 52, 31)  

* 144P/Kushida

It brightened much faster than expected, and reached up to 8.4 mag (Jan. 30, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It was very large and visible through binoculars. Now it is fading rapidly. But it is still bright as 12.0 mag (Apr. 28, Martin Lehky). It is getting lower gradually in the evening sky, and will be too low to observe in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   8 49.65   13  5.4   1.648   1.822    82   13.4  18:36 (162, 40)  
May  16   9  6.34   12  6.7   1.749   1.867    80   13.8  18:32 (160, 41)  

* 64P/Swift-Gehrels

The condition of this return is bad, and it has not been observed yet. It will appear in the morning low sky at 13.5 mag in June. Then it will be getting higher gradually while fading slowly.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   1 25.29   14 33.1   2.310   1.445    23   13.7   5:15 (250,  3)  
May  16   1 48.19   16 52.2   2.278   1.422    24   13.6   5:20 (247,  3)  

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

Now it is 12.3 mag, still visible visually (Apr. 28, Martin Lehky). It had been visible visually as bright as 10-11 mag for half a year since 2008 September until 2009 March. However, it has been faint as 12 mag since April.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   7 52.36   22 12.8   6.443   6.128    67   14.0  18:36 (151, 27)  
May  16   7 55.91   21 57.9   6.546   6.130    61   14.0  18:32 (146, 25)  

* C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught )

It reached to 10.9 mag in May (May 11, Marco Goiato). It is fading slowly. Now it is 14.0 mag (Apr. 28, Martin Lehky), still visible visually. It keeps bright as 13-14 mag for a long time after this until summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  16 37.88   34 37.3   3.485   4.128   123   14.1   1:31 (180, 20)  
May  16  16 33.53   35 39.2   3.535   4.177   123   14.2   1:00 (180, 19)  

* 65P/Gunn

Now it is 12.9 mag and visible visually (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will brighten up to 12-13 mag in 2010 summer. In 2009, it keeps observable in good condition until summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  11 52.43   13 29.1   2.312   2.992   123   14.3  20:43 (180, 42)  
May  16  11 51.58   12 59.6   2.370   2.971   117   14.3  20:14 (180, 42)  

* C/2008 A1 ( McNaught )

It reached to 6.3 mag in September in the southern sky (Sept. 4, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading. Although it has already become fainter than 16 mag by CCD observations, it seems to be still visible visually around 14 mag.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)  
May   9  23 42.48   73 38.3   3.628   3.291    62   14.6   5:15 (194,-24)  
May  16   0  5.95   75 33.5   3.715   3.368    62   14.8   5:20 (192,-25)  

* 88P/Howell

Now it is 15.5 mag (Apr. 19, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be brightening rapidly after this, and will be 10 mag in autumn. It keeps observable for a long time until 2010 February. But in the Northern Hemisphere, it will be lower than 20 degree after July when it becomes about 13 mag, then it keeps very low all through the brightest time. It locates a bit higher in the Southern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  12 26.74    1 23.9   1.234   2.089   137   15.0  21:17 (180, 54)  
May  16  12 22.76    1 25.0   1.246   2.043   129   14.8  20:45 (180, 54)  

* C/2005 L3 ( McNaught )

Now it is 13.7 mag (Apr. 21, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It had been bright and visible visually around 13 mag from spring to autumn in 2008. It will be visible visually at 14 mag again until summer.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  13 53.90   38  0.5   5.966   6.561   122   14.9  22:43 (180, 17)  
May  16  13 46.21   38  7.5   6.055   6.587   117   15.0  22:08 (180, 17)  

* 77P/Longmore

Now it is visible visually at 13.6 mag (Apr. 23, Mitsunori Tsumura). It will keep 14-15 mag for a while. But it will be getting lower rapidly after this, and will be too low to observe in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  11 30.47    4 55.0   1.639   2.345   122   15.0  20:21 (180, 50)  
May  16  11 30.11    3 30.6   1.703   2.338   116   15.0  19:53 (180, 52)  

* C/2007 B2 ( Skiff )

It brightened up to 12.7 mag in 2008 spring (Apr. 12, Marco Goiato). But it faded down to 14.9 mag in July (July 22, Mitsunori Tsumura). In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be observable in good condition after this. It will never be observable again in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  20 17.87  -52  6.0   3.435   3.905   110   15.3   5:11 (  0, 73)  
May  16  20 20.22  -52 48.8   3.402   3.948   115   15.3   4:46 (  0, 72)  

* 209P/2008 X2 ( LINEAR )

It passed near by the earth in April. It brightened up to 14.3 mag and became visible visually (Apr. 22, Alan Hale). It moves southward very rapidly, and it will locate very low after late May in the Northern Hemisphere. The ephemeris says that it will be fading after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in August. But actually, it has not started fading after the perihelion passage. It is still bright as 13.8 mag (May 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  22 26.24  -11 48.6   0.346   0.975    74   15.7   5:15 (238, 54)  
May  16  22 43.69  -18  8.6   0.382   1.015    79   15.9   5:20 (242, 60)  

* 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh

Now it is 14.5 mag and visible visually (Mar. 22, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be getting lower in the evening sky after this, and will be too low to observe in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9   9 17.39   22 38.7   3.487   3.569    86   15.8  18:36 (172, 32)  
May  16   9 22.28   22  7.5   3.583   3.567    80   15.8  18:32 (167, 32)  

* C/2008 N1 ( Holmes )

Now it is 16.3 mag (Mar. 20, H. Sato). It will brighten up to 15 mag in 2009 and 2010, and will be observable for a long time in good condition.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  21 40.62   39 28.2   3.286   3.127    72   16.0   5:15 (195, 13)  
May  16  21 35.11   42 12.7   3.170   3.096    76   15.9   5:20 (188, 12)  

* 217P/2009 F3 ( LINEAR )

Now it is 17.7 mag (Apr. 8, Yasukazu Ikari). It will brighten rapidly after this, and it is expected to be observable at 10-11 mag in a good condition for a long time from summer to winter.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  21 28.61  -10 28.7   1.679   1.917    87   16.3   5:15 (215, 61)  
May  16  21 44.26   -9 43.3   1.559   1.860    90   16.0   5:20 (207, 62)  

* C/2006 S3 ( LONEOS )

It is expected to reach up to 12 mag in 2012, and to be observable visually at 12-13 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2013. In 2009, it is observable in good condition at 16 mag from summer to autumn. In the Northern Hemisphere, the comet will be low around its brightest seasons.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  22 58.17    5 27.2   9.638   9.192    61   16.6   5:15 (230, 35)  
May  16  22 58.28    5 38.3   9.492   9.155    67   16.5   5:20 (222, 40)  

* C/2009 F5 ( McNaught )

It will be fading after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  14  6.23  -14 22.2   2.040   3.029   165   16.6  22:56 (180, 69)  
May  16  13 58.75  -11 16.5   2.125   3.078   156   16.7  22:21 (180, 66)  

* 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 16.4 mag (Apr. 4, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable in good condition until June when it becomes fainter than 18 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  12 31.93   35 45.7   2.508   3.086   115   16.7  21:22 (180, 19)  
May  16  12 29.35   34 24.8   2.619   3.131   111   16.9  20:52 (180, 21)  

* C/2008 Q1 ( Maticic )

It reached up to 16.4 mag in spring (Mar. 14, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be fading after this, and will be fainter than 18 mag in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  14 46.29   35 55.9   2.521   3.226   126   16.8  23:34 (180, 19)  
May  16  14 25.90   34 49.7   2.580   3.254   123   16.9  22:47 (180, 20)  

* C/2008 FK75 ( Lemmon-Siding Spring )

Now it is 16.6 mag (Apr. 15, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will reach to 15 mag in 2010. It keeps observable for a long time after this in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  15 26.12    2 58.1   5.080   6.033   158   16.8   0:20 (180, 52)  
May  16  15 22.86    3 48.0   5.054   5.998   157   16.8  23:45 (180, 51)  

* C/2006 U6 ( Spacewatch )

It has already faded down to 17.1 mag (Apr. 28, Yasukazu Ikari). It will be fainter than 18 mag in July.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  11  9.97    1 16.5   3.675   4.264   119   17.1  20:00 (180, 54)  
May  16  11  9.57    2 27.4   3.831   4.317   112   17.2  19:32 (180, 53)  

* C/2009 F4 ( McNaught )

It will reach up to 14-15 mag from 2011 to 2012. Now it is 17 mag and locates low in the south.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  15 25.93  -24 37.6   7.701   8.699   171   17.3   0:20 (180, 80)  
May  16  15 22.06  -24 45.3   7.658   8.664   173   17.3  23:44 (180, 80)  

* 2001 TX16

Peculiar asteroid moving along a cometary orbit. It will fade out very rapidly after May.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  13 49.90   -3  7.9   1.412   2.374   157   17.4  22:39 (180, 58)  
May  16  13 45.34   -3 22.2   1.494   2.422   149   17.6  22:08 (180, 58)  

* 143P/Kowal-Mrkos

It reached 16.9 mag at opposition in March (Mar. 28, Ken-ichi Kadota). But it will fade out soon, and will be fainter than 18 mag in May.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   9  11 47.35   -4 10.3   1.778   2.549   130   17.8  20:38 (180, 59)  
May  16  11 49.08   -3 59.9   1.840   2.545   123   17.9  20:12 (180, 59)  

* 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). Now it is extremely faint as 21.2 mag (Apr. 20, J. V. Scotti). 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)  
May   9  11 18.41   23 46.1   4.003   4.471   111   22.5  20:09 (180, 31)  
May  16  11 18.97   23 19.6   4.106   4.480   105   22.6  19:42 (180, 32)  

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