Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2009 June 6: South)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on June 20, 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.

C/2008 Q3 ( Garradd ) Now it is so bright as 7.2 mag (May 25, Marco Goiato). It was origianlly predicted to be 13 mag, but actually, it is much brighter than expected now. 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) June 6 13 54.31 -50 35.5 0.945 1.812 135 6.9 20:51 ( 0, 75) June 13 13 17.48 -39 10.4 1.010 1.803 125 7.0 19:48 ( 0, 86) C/2008 T2 ( Cardinal ) Now it is so bright as 8.5 mag (May 26, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will never be observable again in the Northern Hemisphere. 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) June 6 7 27.64 6 22.7 1.795 1.208 39 8.3 18:25 (114, 21) June 13 7 43.18 2 6.5 1.797 1.202 39 8.3 18:25 (109, 21) C/2006 W3 ( Christensen ) It is already so bright as 8.8 mag (May 27, 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) June 6 22 38.64 35 33.5 3.145 3.140 80 8.7 5:31 (182, 19) June 13 22 31.78 35 36.6 3.024 3.135 86 8.6 5:07 (180, 19) 22P/Kopff Now it is very bright as 9.0 mag (May 27, 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) June 6 22 2.14 -10 35.8 0.960 1.582 106 9.4 5:04 (180, 66) June 13 22 15.30 -9 57.6 0.924 1.589 109 9.4 4:50 (180, 65) C/2009 G1 ( STEREO ) Now it is bright as 8.7 mag (May 24, Alexandre Amorim). 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) June 6 2 34.24 -55 14.6 1.062 1.384 83 9.5 5:31 (316, 44) June 13 3 52.47 -60 5.7 1.117 1.448 85 9.8 5:34 (323, 38) C/2009 F6 ( Yi-SWAN ) It was bright as 8-9 mag in April and May. Now it is not observable. 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 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) June 6 5 46.55 36 34.6 2.281 1.350 17 9.6 18:25 (124,-16) June 13 6 3.46 33 13.5 2.358 1.388 13 9.8 18:25 (119,-16) C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring ) Now it is very bright as 9.9 mag (May 22, 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) June 6 7 13.74 -8 33.8 3.252 2.648 45 11.1 18:25 ( 99, 27) June 13 7 25.63 -7 0.2 3.270 2.608 42 11.0 18:25 ( 98, 23) 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). It has faded down to 11.8 mag (May 17, Carlos Labordena), and became unobservable. But it will appear in the morning sky again at 14 mag in August. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 6 48.22 22 6.0 3.297 2.425 25 12.3 18:25 (120, 3) June 13 6 51.59 22 1.0 3.433 2.502 19 12.6 18:25 (116, -1) 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko It brightened very rapidly, faster than expected, and reached up to 9.3 mag in spring (Mar. 26, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. However, it is still very bright as 9.7 mag (May 26, Juan Jose Gonzalez). But it will be too low to observe in the evening in late June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 7 40.84 26 27.6 2.382 1.693 37 12.5 18:25 (132, 9) June 13 8 2.22 25 32.8 2.465 1.744 35 12.8 18:25 (130, 9) 116P/Wild 4 Now it is very bright as 11.3 mag (May 26, Marco Goiato). 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) June 6 10 19.87 11 50.3 2.186 2.196 77 12.8 18:25 (159, 41) June 13 10 30.50 10 37.1 2.252 2.190 73 12.8 18:25 (153, 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) June 6 3 1.32 22 56.3 2.213 1.381 26 13.3 5:31 (239, 3) June 13 3 26.90 24 32.0 2.202 1.377 27 13.3 5:34 (237, 3) 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 12.5 mag (May 26, Juan Jose Gonzalez). 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) June 6 7 59.91 26 5.8 4.388 3.694 41 13.4 18:25 (134, 12) June 13 8 8.51 25 9.7 4.504 3.746 37 13.6 18:25 (130, 10) 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) June 6 5 21.60 -42 3.2 3.672 3.370 64 13.6 18:25 ( 53, 22) June 13 5 31.01 -40 51.4 3.733 3.413 64 13.7 18:25 ( 53, 19) (3200) Phaethon It passes the perihelion in June, and brightens up to 13.5 mag. But it is not observable, too close to the sun. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 5 36.94 20 50.2 1.476 0.504 9 14.6 18:25 (109, -9) June 13 6 6.41 19 49.5 1.257 0.314 10 13.7 18:25 (109, -8) 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 fading now. But it is still very bright as 10.5 mag (May 29, Carlos Labordena). It will be getting higher gradually after this, and it keeps observable until it has gone away. It will be visible visually for some more time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 23 20.95 30 1.2 1.171 1.319 73 13.7 5:31 (192, 24) June 13 22 53.42 28 53.8 1.085 1.427 85 14.3 5:29 (180, 26) 88P/Howell Now it is 14.5 mag (May 13, Toru Yusa). 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) June 6 12 21.02 0 19.0 1.311 1.906 109 14.3 19:21 (180, 55) June 13 12 23.91 -0 24.9 1.338 1.860 103 14.1 18:57 (180, 56) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Now it is 13.3 mag, still visible visually (May 17, Carlos Labordena). 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 fainter than 12 mag since April. It will be unobservable in June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 8 8.42 21 7.0 6.819 6.135 44 14.1 18:25 (133, 17) June 13 8 13.08 20 48.1 6.895 6.137 38 14.1 18:25 (128, 14) 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) June 6 11 55.27 10 51.8 2.571 2.910 99 14.4 18:56 (180, 44) June 13 11 58.43 9 58.5 2.642 2.890 93 14.4 18:31 (180, 45) 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) June 6 16 19.72 37 26.1 3.735 4.323 119 14.5 23:19 (180, 18) June 13 16 15.50 37 36.4 3.816 4.372 117 14.6 22:47 (180, 17) 217P/2009 F3 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 14.6 mag, already visible visually (May 27, Juan Jose Gonzalez). 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) June 6 22 35.74 -7 23.2 1.227 1.692 97 15.0 5:31 (183, 62) June 13 22 54.94 -6 37.2 1.128 1.638 99 14.6 5:29 (180, 62) 24P/Schaumasse It reaches up to 11 mag in 2009 summer. However, the condition of this apparition is worst. We can not observe it at all. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 5 16.17 23 29.0 2.477 1.468 4 15.5 18:25 (109,-15) June 13 5 39.81 24 20.3 2.434 1.421 3 14.8 18:25 (109,-16) 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 12.3 mag (May 17, Carlos Labordena). 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) June 6 9 53.24 8 52.1 2.070 2.006 72 14.9 18:25 (150, 41) June 13 10 7.91 7 42.8 2.181 2.054 69 15.3 18:25 (145, 41) C/2009 K4 ( Gibbs ) Now it is bright as 14.0 mag and visible visually (June 11, Juan Jose Gonzalez). However, it will be getting lower very rapidly in the evening sky, and will be too low to observe in early August. It was discovered in May, but it must have been bright and observable in the northern sky since winter. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 8 37.38 42 23.0 2.022 1.569 49 15.0 18:25 (151, 4) June 13 9 3.79 39 20.9 2.033 1.561 48 15.0 18:25 (149, 6) 199P/2008 G2 ( Shoemaker 4 ) It has brightened up to 14 mag in outburst in 2008 August. It has not been observable for a long time, but it is appearing in the morning sky. Now it is bright as 15.4 mag (May 8, Ken-ichi Kadota), brighter than originally expected. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 21 22.19 -29 29.4 2.315 2.964 120 15.1 4:25 (180, 84) June 13 21 24.97 -30 37.4 2.251 2.971 126 15.1 4:00 (180, 86) 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) June 6 13 26.52 37 43.5 6.378 6.665 102 15.1 20:26 (180, 17) June 13 13 21.33 37 23.7 6.498 6.692 96 15.2 19:53 (180, 18) 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) June 6 11 37.05 -0 56.3 1.921 2.320 99 15.2 18:38 (180, 56) June 13 11 41.67 -2 28.6 1.999 2.316 94 15.3 18:25 (175, 58) C/2008 A1 ( McNaught ) It reached to 6.3 mag in September in the southern sky (Sept. 4, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.2 mag (May 8, Ken-ichi Kadota). 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) June 6 1 34.77 80 25.7 3.968 3.596 61 15.3 5:31 (188,-28) June 13 2 13.65 81 42.2 4.047 3.671 61 15.5 5:34 (187,-29) 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) June 6 20 19.31 -54 53.8 3.344 4.077 130 15.4 3:22 ( 0, 70) June 13 20 16.43 -55 30.1 3.340 4.121 134 15.5 2:52 ( 0, 70) C/2008 N1 ( Holmes ) Now it is 16.3 mag (May 8, Ken-ichi Kadota). 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) June 6 21 1.96 50 56.7 2.855 3.010 88 15.6 4:05 (180, 4) June 13 20 42.95 53 45.0 2.769 2.984 92 15.5 3:19 (180, 1) C/2008 P1 ( Garradd ) It has not been observed since January, but now it is getting higher gradually in the morning sky. It keeps observable in good condition at 15 mag until late autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 0 41.54 7 30.0 4.275 3.918 62 15.6 5:31 (223, 37) June 13 0 44.23 9 0.5 4.171 3.912 68 15.5 5:34 (214, 39) 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) June 6 9 40.22 20 18.3 3.862 3.563 65 16.0 18:25 (152, 30) June 13 9 47.07 19 37.2 3.949 3.562 60 16.0 18:25 (146, 28) C/2006 S3 ( LONEOS ) It has not been observed since January, but it must have already brightened up to 16.5 mag. 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) June 6 22 56.70 6 3.9 9.029 9.043 87 16.3 5:31 (190, 48) June 13 22 55.46 6 9.0 8.872 9.006 94 16.3 5:30 (180, 49) 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) June 6 23 22.22 -31 39.4 0.485 1.173 96 16.6 5:31 (256, 78) June 13 23 29.46 -35 14.5 0.517 1.234 102 16.7 5:34 (273, 84) 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) June 6 15 13.42 5 54.9 5.062 5.895 141 16.7 22:13 (180, 49) June 13 15 10.71 6 28.0 5.091 5.861 135 16.7 21:43 (180, 49) C/2009 F4 ( McNaught ) It will reach up to 14-15 mag from 2011 to 2012. Now it is 17.3 mag (May 1, Ken-ichi Kadota), and locates low in the south. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 15 10.64 -25 4.1 7.623 8.558 155 17.2 22:10 (180, 80) June 13 15 7.11 -25 9.0 7.641 8.523 148 17.2 21:39 (180, 80) 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) June 6 13 38.05 29 44.5 2.870 3.344 109 17.2 20:37 (180, 25) June 13 13 26.93 27 46.0 2.996 3.376 103 17.4 19:59 (180, 27) C/2009 F5 ( McNaught ) It was discovered at 15.5 mag in spring (Mar. 20, R. H. McNaught). Fading now. But it is still 16.2 mag (May 22, Ken-ichi Kadota), brighter than this ephemeris. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 13 44.14 -3 55.6 2.483 3.230 129 17.3 20:44 (180, 59) June 13 13 41.78 -2 8.5 2.628 3.281 122 17.5 20:14 (180, 57) 107P/(4015) Wilson-Harrington Now it is 18.3 mag (May 21, Sierra Stars Observatory). The condition is good in this apparition. It will approach to the earth down to 0.38 A.U., and will be observable in good condition at 16.5 mag in November. It keeps observable until that time after this. But it locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) June 6 17 12.45 -24 22.4 0.899 1.913 175 17.4 0:16 (180, 79) June 13 17 1.63 -23 56.3 0.842 1.855 174 17.3 23:33 (180, 79) 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 16.7 mag (May 2, 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) June 6 12 28.45 30 1.3 2.981 3.263 96 17.5 19:29 (180, 25) June 13 12 30.09 28 31.0 3.108 3.306 92 17.7 19:03 (180, 27) 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) June 6 11 24.52 21 37.8 4.431 4.510 87 22.9 18:25 (180, 33) June 13 11 27.52 20 58.1 4.540 4.520 82 23.0 18:25 (173, 34)