Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2010 Feb. 27: North)

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Updated on March 3, 2010
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Best time and the azimuth, altitude (A,h) are at lat. 35 deg in the Northern Hemisphere.
Azimuth indicates 0 for south, 90 for west, 180 for north, 270 for east.

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* 81P/Wild 2

Now it is so bright as 9.6 mag (Feb. 20, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps observable bright as 9-10 mag in a good condition for a long time until spring. It keeps observable until autumn when it fades down to 16 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  13 55.59   -6 52.8   0.780   1.599   128    9.5   3:29 (  0, 48)  
Mar.  6  14  3.16   -6 57.6   0.746   1.602   133    9.5   3:09 (  0, 48)  

* C/2009 K5 ( McNaught )

Appearing in the morning sky, brighter than expected. Now it is 10.2 mag (Feb. 20, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will reach up to 8 mag and to be observable in good condition in spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  18 52.29   -6 17.1   2.007   1.674    56   10.1   5:08 (301, 28)  
Mar.  6  19  1.15   -1 36.0   1.854   1.625    61    9.8   4:59 (300, 33)  

* C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring )

It brightened up to 9.5 mag on Jan. 13 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is still bright as 11.1 mag (Feb. 20, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It keeps as bright as 9-10 mag until spring. It will be observable in good condition for a long time after this in the Northern Hemisphere. It keeps visible visually for one year until autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  15 12.58   49 48.5   2.260   2.765   110    9.8   4:46 (180, 75)  
Mar.  6  15 17.90   52 28.2   2.301   2.810   110   10.0   4:24 (180, 73)  

* C/2009 O2 ( Catalina )

Now it is bright as 11.9 mag (Feb. 20, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be bright as 9 mag in the northern sky in March and April. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be observable in the low sky after the perihelion passage only.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  20 45.86   21 53.0   1.312   0.864    41   11.2   5:08 (258, 22)  
Mar.  6  21 16.32   28 29.9   1.126   0.790    43   10.5   4:59 (251, 23)  

* C/2006 W3 ( Christensen )

It reached up to 7.7 mag in last summer (Aug. 13, Chris Wyatt). It is fading now. It has already faded down to 11.0 mag (Feb. 24, A. Novichonok, D. Chestnov). In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this. But in the Northern Hemisphere, it is only observable in the low sky in spring, then it will never be observable again.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  20 11.02  -23 22.8   4.575   3.849    38   11.0   5:08 (301,  2)  
Mar.  6  20 13.98  -24  6.5   4.525   3.887    44   11.1   4:59 (304,  5)  

* 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4

It brightened up to 11.5 mag in January (Jan. 12, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It is still bright as 12.3 mag (Feb. 11, Carlos Labordena). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition until spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   6  1.78   16 36.1   1.441   2.033   112   13.3  19:34 (  0, 72)  
Mar.  6   6 10.10   17 21.8   1.520   2.045   107   13.6  19:23 (  6, 72)  

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

Great outburst up to 11 mag occured on Feb. 2. Now it is still very bright as 10.7 mag (Feb. 21, Marco Goiato).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   9 27.72   12 50.8   5.247   6.196   161   13.5  22:58 (  0, 68)  
Mar.  6   9 24.81   13  0.5   5.289   6.198   154   13.6  22:28 (  0, 68)  

* 65P/Gunn

Appearing in the morining sky. It will brighten up to 12-13 mag in summer. But it locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  18 58.52  -25  8.8   2.871   2.440    54   13.7   5:08 (314, 13)  
Mar.  6  19 12.02  -25 10.7   2.800   2.440    58   13.7   4:59 (315, 14)  

* 88P/Howell

It reached up to 8.4 mag in October (Oct. 20, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 12.1 mag (Feb. 11, Carlos Labordena). It will be too low to observe soon.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   0 11.64   -0 59.2   2.825   1.964    24   13.9  19:17 ( 85,  5)  
Mar.  6   0 26.66    0 45.2   2.902   2.010    21   14.3  19:23 ( 90,  2)  

* 126P/IRAS

Now it is 15.6 mag (Dec. 6, A. Maury, J. B. de Vanssay, F. Mallia, F. Kugel). It will be 14 mag from winter to spring in 2010. But the condition is bad. Now it is not observable. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will appear in the morning sky at 15 mag in late May, then it keeps observable while fading gradually after that.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  23 24.73   -4 12.1   2.670   1.714    12   14.1  19:17 ( 90, -6)  
Mar.  6  23 37.74   -0 48.8   2.688   1.718     9   14.2  19:23 ( 95, -9)  

* C/2009 R1 ( McNaught )

It will approach to the sun down to 0.4 A.U. in July, and it is expected to reach up to 4 mag. It keeps unobservable for a while. It will appear in the morning sky at 12 mag in April. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable only until June.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  21 57.66  -13 10.6   3.385   2.421    11   14.5   5:08 (278,-12)  
Mar.  6  22  5.75  -11 37.7   3.259   2.320    15   14.2   4:59 (278, -9)  

* 43P/Wolf-Harrington

It brightened up to 15.5 mag in January (Jan. 31, C. Rinner, F. Kugel). It is not observable now. The condition of this apparition is bad. It will reach up to 11-12 mag from spring to autumn in 2010, but it is not observable.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  23 29.77    7 24.2   2.801   1.904    20   14.5  19:17 ( 98,  1)  
Mar.  6  23 45.75    8 42.2   2.777   1.857    17   14.3  19:23 (102, -1)  

* 116P/Wild 4

It brightened up to 11 mag in spring and summer in 2009. Appearing in the morninig sky again. It keeps observable after this until autumn when it becomes fainter than 18 mag while fading gradually. But it locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  18 55.31  -25 37.5   3.076   2.648    55   15.0   5:08 (315, 13)  
Mar.  6  19  6.33  -25 28.9   3.022   2.673    60   15.0   4:59 (316, 14)  

* 94P/Russell 4

Now it is 15.9 mag (Feb. 12, Hidetaka Sato). It was expected to be observable at 15 mag in good condition from winter to spring. But actually, it had been much fainter than expected until January. However, it is brightening very rapidly in February.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  10 21.86   21 50.9   1.277   2.250   166   15.1  23:52 (  0, 77)  
Mar.  6  10 17.10   22 12.5   1.289   2.246   159   15.1  23:20 (  0, 77)  

* 30P/Reinmuth 1

Now it is 13.3 mag, already visible visually (Feb. 3, Marco Goiato). It will be observable at 15 mag in good condition in winter and spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   5 14.36   21  6.5   1.485   1.938   101   15.1  19:17 ( 28, 75)  
Mar.  6   5 24.31   21 53.9   1.540   1.925    96   15.1  19:23 ( 46, 72)  

* C/2009 U3 ( Hill )

It was observed as bright as 13.5 mag with a very faint large coma in January (Jan. 16, Michael Jager). However, it did not brighten furthermore after that. Now it is 15.7 mag (Feb. 14, C. Rinner, F. Kugel).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   1  7.69   54 55.9   1.434   1.447    70   15.4  19:17 (136, 40)  
Mar.  6   1 18.21   58  0.7   1.439   1.429    69   15.3  19:23 (141, 37)  

* 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh

Now it is 15.5 mag (Feb. 14, E. Bryssinck, S. Farmer, Jr., P. Camilleri, S. Plaksa). It was observed as 15-16 mag in early 2009. In 2010, it will be observable at 16 mag in good condition from winter to spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  14  0.73   -4 43.0   2.937   3.632   128   15.5   3:35 (  0, 50)  
Mar.  6  13 59.72   -4 30.3   2.865   3.637   135   15.5   3:06 (  0, 50)  

* 10P/Tempel 2

Now it is 18.3 mag (Jan. 26, C. Rinner, F. Kugel). It will be getting brighter rapidly in the morning sky. It keeps observable bright as 9-10 mag for a long time from spring to autumn.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  17 56.32  -13 44.2   2.020   1.911    69   16.0   5:08 (319, 31)  
Mar.  6  18 13.45  -13 43.3   1.918   1.869    72   15.5   4:59 (319, 31)  

* C/2008 N1 ( Holmes )

Now it is 16.6 mag (Feb. 18, Ken-ichi Kadota), a bit fainter than this ephemeris. It will be observable at 16 mag in good condition until spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  15  1.84   26 10.2   2.640   3.194   115   15.7   4:36 (  0, 81)  
Mar.  6  14 48.76   27  9.6   2.581   3.229   122   15.6   3:55 (  0, 82)  

* C/2006 OF2 ( Broughton )

It brightned up to 10 mag from late 2008 to early 2009. Now it is fading. But it is still bright as 15.8 mag (Feb. 16, Catalina Sky Survey). It keeps observable in good condition at 16 mag for a while.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   9 54.61    3 28.8   4.777   5.749   167   15.7  23:25 (  0, 58)  
Mar.  6   9 50.88    3 35.8   4.855   5.803   161   15.8  22:54 (  0, 59)  

* C/2008 FK75 ( Lemmon-Siding Spring )

Now it is 15.5 mag (Feb. 20, S. Plaksa, E. Bryssinck). It keeps observable at 15 mag for a long time in 2010.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  17 41.85   18  8.8   4.938   4.831    78   15.8   5:08 (293, 57)  
Mar.  6  17 46.61   19 34.2   4.842   4.811    82   15.7   4:59 (294, 61)  

* P/2010 A5 ( LINEAR )

Now it is 16.3 mag (Feb. 19, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be bright as 14-15 mag in spring. It keeps observable for a long time until September when it becomes fainter than 18 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  14 50.61  -25 22.4   1.197   1.797   110   15.9   4:24 (  0, 30)  
Mar.  6  15  3.58  -26 36.3   1.125   1.776   113   15.8   4:10 (  0, 28)  

* 217P/2009 F3 ( LINEAR )

It reached up to 8.5 mag on Oct. 15 (Toru Yusa). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 13.5 mag (Feb. 2, Juan Jose Gonzalez). In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable in good condition for a long time until spring when it becomes fainter than 18 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   5 50.16   19 17.2   1.785   2.312   109   15.8  19:22 (  0, 74)  
Mar.  6   5 57.03   19 59.5   1.923   2.369   104   16.2  19:23 ( 19, 74)  

* C/2008 Q3 ( Garradd )

It brightened up to 6.7 mag in 2009 June (June 9, Marco Goiato). Now it is 15.3 mag (Feb. 16, Hidetaka Sato). It will be fading after this, and keeps observable until spring when it becomes fainter than 18 mag.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  12 18.64   52 38.8   2.720   3.456   131   15.9   1:54 (180, 73)  
Mar.  6  11 57.45   54 43.6   2.799   3.519   130   16.2   1:05 (180, 70)  

* 169P/NEAT

It became very bright and observed visually as 9.2 mag (Nov. 18, Juan Jose Gonzalez) and 11.6 mag (Dec. 7, Chris Wyatt) until around the perihelion passage. In January, it approached to the earth down to 0.2 A.U. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is observable in the excellent condition. But it is fading rapidly now. Now it is 15.9 mag (Feb. 19, Yasukazu Ikari). It will be fainter than 18 mag in March.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   8 40.44    4  8.0   0.609   1.549   150   16.1  22:11 (  0, 59)  
Mar.  6   8 41.15    6 49.6   0.718   1.630   144   16.7  21:45 (  0, 62)  

* C/2005 L3 ( McNaught )

It brightened up to 13 mag and observed visually from 2007 to 2009. Due to the far distance, it is bright as 14.9 mag still now (Jan. 15, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be observable in good condition again until spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  12 58.90   40  8.2   7.059   7.798   135   16.1   2:33 (180, 85)  
Mar.  6  12 52.74   40 50.9   7.070   7.831   137   16.2   2:00 (180, 84)  

* 157P/Tritton

Now it is 15.4 mag (Feb. 14, C. Rinner, F. Kugel). It brightened up to 11 mag in outburst in 2003. However, it does not seem to be so bright in this apparition. It seems to be 16 mag at best.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   3  7.35   21  4.4   1.287   1.362    72   16.2  19:17 ( 79, 53)  
Mar.  6   3 32.91   21 53.9   1.318   1.369    71   16.3  19:23 ( 81, 52)  

* P/2009 T2 ( La Sagra )

It brightened very rapidly, and reached up to 14.8 mag and became visible visually in December (Dec. 4, Juan Jose Gonzalez). But it is fading rapidly now. It has already faded down to 16.5 mag (Feb. 7, L. Buzzi). It will be fainter than 18 mag in late March.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   4  3.26   -5 42.0   1.712   1.828    80   16.5  19:17 ( 35, 43)  
Mar.  6   4 18.93   -5  2.6   1.784   1.851    77   16.8  19:23 ( 41, 41)  

* C/2007 N3 ( Lulin )

It passed near by the earth in late February in 2009, and it reached up to 4.9 mag (Feb. 23, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is 16.8 mag (Jan. 23, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be low in the evening sky at 17-18 mag in spring.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   4 28.64   20  7.9   5.050   5.154    90   16.8  19:17 ( 54, 68)  
Mar.  6   4 27.77   20  8.2   5.242   5.219    83   17.0  19:23 ( 66, 61)  

* P/2010 A3 ( Hill )

Now it is 16.4 mag (Feb. 13, Catalina Sky Survey). It keeps observable at 17 mag in good condition for a while. It will be fainter than 18 mag in June.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   3  1.83   22 12.4   1.704   1.673    71   16.9  19:17 ( 81, 53)  
Mar.  6   3 18.48   24  7.7   1.738   1.655    68   16.9  19:23 ( 87, 50)  

* 203P/2008 R4 ( Korlevic )

Now it is 16.3 mag (Jan. 23, Ken-ichi Kadota). This comet tends to brighten after the perihelion passage. It will be observable at 16 mag in 2010 and 2011. It is brighter than this ephemeris recently.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   4 36.01   23 13.4   2.981   3.184    92   17.1  19:17 ( 56, 71)  
Mar.  6   4 41.99   23 18.4   3.079   3.185    86   17.1  19:23 ( 67, 66)  

* C/2010 B1 ( Cardinal )

Now it is 17.6 mag (Jan. 31, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable at 17 mag until spring. It will reach up to 14 mag and will be observable in good condition in the next winter.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   6 12.70   66 19.5   4.038   4.431   107   17.3  19:44 (180, 59)  
Mar.  6   6  4.42   64 22.2   4.075   4.384   101   17.3  19:23 (177, 61)  

* P/2009 Q4 ( Boattini )

It brightened much faster than expected. It became very bright visually at 11.8 mag in December (Dec. 12, Juan Jose Gonzalez). But it is fading rapidly now. It has already faded down to 15.8 mag (Feb. 3, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable in good condition for a long time. But it will be fainter than 18 mag in late February.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  10 25.35   22 35.1   0.729   1.706   165   17.5   0:00 (  0, 77)  
Mar.  6  10 21.83   23 37.5   0.787   1.751   159   18.0  23:25 (  0, 79)  

* C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught )

Now it is 17.1 mag (Jan. 27, Hidetaka Sato). It will be fainter than 18 mag in April.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  18 43.94   31 14.9   6.541   6.252    68   17.7   5:08 (262, 51)  
Mar.  6  18 47.93   32  7.4   6.540   6.303    71   17.8   4:59 (262, 54)  

* 230P/2009 U6 ( LINEAR )

Now it is 17.9 mag (Jan. 19, W. Hasubick). It will be fainter than 18 mag in March.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27  10 44.45   26  2.0   1.469   2.431   162   17.9   0:19 (  0, 81)  
Mar.  6  10 37.90   26 50.7   1.528   2.476   158   18.1  23:41 (  0, 82)  

* P/2004 F3 ( NEAT )

New periodic comet which brightened up to 14 mag in 2004 and 2005. It should be observable at 18 mag also around the aphelion. However, no observations have been reported since 2008 January. It seems to have faded out rapidly. Now it is fainter than 20.4 mag actually (Sept. 16, Leonid Elenin).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
Feb. 27   6 16.56   31 10.5   4.408   4.912   115   20.1  19:48 (  0, 86)  
Mar.  6   6 16.32   31  8.9   4.502   4.903   108   20.2  19:23 (  8, 86)  

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