Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2010 Mar. 13: South)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on March 16, 2010
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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/2009 K5 ( McNaught ) Now it is so bright as 9.2 mag (Mar. 13, Marco Goiato). 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) Mar. 13 19 10.21 3 57.1 1.705 1.580 65 9.4 4:31 (241, 30) Mar. 20 19 19.61 10 32.8 1.568 1.539 69 9.1 4:38 (230, 29) 81P/Wild 2 Now it is so bright as 9.2 mag (Mar. 14, Marco Goiato). 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) Mar. 13 14 8.88 -6 52.3 0.718 1.608 139 9.5 2:48 (180, 62) Mar. 20 14 12.63 -6 38.3 0.696 1.618 145 9.5 2:24 (180, 62) C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring ) It brightened up to 9.5 mag on Jan. 13 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is still bright as 11.3 mag (Mar. 10, Juan Jose Gonzalez). However, it is fading more rapidly than expected. It will be observable in good condition for a long time after this in the Northern Hemisphere. It keeps visible visually until autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 13 15 21.52 54 55.1 2.350 2.856 110 10.1 4:00 (180, 0) Mar. 20 15 23.31 57 7.1 2.407 2.903 110 10.2 3:34 (180, -2) 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 11.2 mag (Mar. 13, Marco Goiato). 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) Mar. 13 20 16.50 -24 53.3 4.464 3.925 51 11.1 4:31 (279, 33) Mar. 20 20 18.50 -25 44.0 4.395 3.964 58 11.2 4:38 (276, 40) C/2009 O2 ( Catalina ) It is not brightening at all after it appeared in the morning sky in late January. Now it is still 12.8 mag (Mar. 12, Hidetaka Sato). Hidetaka Sato reported that there was no condensation and it was very diffuse on Mar. 12. This comet seems to disintegrate. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be too low in early May. In the Southern Hemisphere, it becomes observable in mid April, after the perihelion passage, but it keeps locating low. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 13 22 6.43 36 15.9 0.960 0.734 44 12.6 4:31 (240,-22) Mar. 20 23 31.02 43 7.4 0.844 0.701 43 12.4 4:38 (238,-33) 65P/Gunn Now it is 14.6 mag (Feb. 6, Ken-ichi Kadota). 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) Mar. 13 19 25.15 -25 10.4 2.726 2.441 62 13.6 4:31 (273, 44) Mar. 20 19 37.87 -25 8.5 2.651 2.443 67 13.6 4:38 (270, 48) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Great outburst up to 11 mag occured on Feb. 2. Now it is still very bright as 11.2 mag (Mar. 13, Carlos Labordena). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 13 9 22.23 13 9.0 5.345 6.199 146 13.6 21:58 (180, 42) Mar. 20 9 20.04 13 15.8 5.413 6.200 139 13.6 21:28 (180, 42) 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) Mar. 13 22 14.16 -9 57.4 3.123 2.218 20 13.9 4:31 (281, 1) Mar. 20 22 22.93 -8 8.5 2.977 2.113 24 13.6 4:38 (276, 5) 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 It brightened up to 11.5 mag in January (Jan. 12, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It is still bright as 13.1 mag (Mar. 13, 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) Mar. 13 6 19.51 18 1.9 1.602 2.059 102 13.8 19:46 (165, 36) Mar. 20 6 29.87 18 35.9 1.688 2.075 97 14.2 19:36 (164, 35) 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) Mar. 13 0 2.32 10 3.0 2.750 1.811 15 14.1 19:46 ( 89,-19) Mar. 20 0 19.54 11 25.8 2.721 1.765 13 13.9 19:36 ( 90,-20) 126P/IRAS It was observed as 15.6 mag at the end of last year (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) Mar. 13 23 50.70 2 33.5 2.706 1.725 7 14.2 19:46 ( 81,-18) Mar. 20 0 3.66 5 54.2 2.721 1.736 6 14.3 19:36 ( 83,-20) 10P/Tempel 2 Now it is 17.8 mag (Feb. 17, Hidetaka Sato). 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) Mar. 13 18 30.93 -13 36.7 1.818 1.828 74 15.1 4:31 (249, 49) Mar. 20 18 48.76 -13 24.7 1.720 1.788 77 14.6 4:38 (245, 51) 88P/Howell It reached up to 8.4 mag in October (Oct. 20, Marco Goiato). It has faded down to 14.4 mag in February (Feb. 28, Ken-ichi Kadota), and it became unobservable. It will not be observable after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 13 0 41.29 2 26.0 2.976 2.057 18 14.6 19:46 ( 88, -7) Mar. 20 0 55.55 4 2.8 3.047 2.103 15 15.0 19:36 ( 89, -9) 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) Mar. 13 19 16.71 -25 18.9 2.965 2.697 64 15.1 4:31 (272, 45) Mar. 20 19 26.40 -25 8.3 2.903 2.723 69 15.1 4:38 (268, 50) 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) Mar. 13 10 12.96 22 23.4 1.312 2.243 152 15.1 22:48 (180, 33) Mar. 20 10 9.82 22 23.0 1.346 2.241 145 15.2 22:18 (180, 33) 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) Mar. 13 5 35.61 22 37.1 1.597 1.913 92 15.2 19:46 (155, 28) Mar. 20 5 48.14 23 15.3 1.655 1.903 88 15.2 19:36 (155, 27) C/2009 U3 ( Hill ) Now it is 14.9 mag (Feb. 20, Ken-ichi Kadota). It has a very faint large coma. It was observed so bright as 13.5 mag in January (Jan. 16, Michael Jager). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 13 1 32.52 61 18.0 1.439 1.418 68 15.3 19:46 (148,-28) Mar. 20 1 52.20 64 46.1 1.436 1.414 68 15.3 19:36 (151,-29) C/2006 S3 ( LONEOS ) It will be observable at 12-13 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2012. It is getting higher gradually after this. In 2010, it is observable at 14 mag in good condition from spring to autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 13 21 55.13 -0 8.4 8.484 7.589 24 15.4 4:31 (270, 0) Mar. 20 21 56.57 0 5.7 8.399 7.553 30 15.4 4:38 (266, 6) P/2010 A5 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 15.3 mag (Mar. 9, P. Concari, S. Foglia, G. Galli, M. Tombelli). 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) Mar. 13 15 15.99 -27 43.0 1.058 1.757 117 15.6 3:55 (180, 83) Mar. 20 15 27.65 -28 41.3 0.997 1.742 121 15.4 3:39 (180, 84) 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) Mar. 13 13 57.85 -4 14.2 2.802 3.642 142 15.5 2:37 (180, 59) Mar. 20 13 55.18 -3 55.3 2.750 3.647 150 15.4 2:07 (180, 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) Mar. 13 17 50.93 21 4.2 4.748 4.792 86 15.7 4:31 (211, 27) Mar. 20 17 54.73 22 38.3 4.658 4.773 90 15.6 4:38 (203, 29) 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) Mar. 13 14 33.71 28 2.9 2.537 3.265 129 15.7 3:13 (180, 27) Mar. 20 14 16.94 28 45.3 2.511 3.301 136 15.7 2:29 (180, 26) 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) Mar. 13 3 59.00 22 31.7 1.354 1.380 70 15.8 19:46 (135, 17) Mar. 20 4 25.39 22 56.6 1.394 1.396 69 16.0 19:36 (137, 18) 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) Mar. 13 9 47.49 3 42.9 4.947 5.857 154 15.9 22:23 (180, 51) Mar. 20 9 44.52 3 49.6 5.053 5.911 146 15.9 21:53 (180, 51) 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) Mar. 13 12 46.21 41 28.6 7.095 7.863 138 16.2 1:26 (180, 14) Mar. 20 12 39.41 42 0.3 7.136 7.896 137 16.2 0:51 (180, 13) C/2008 Q3 ( Garradd ) It brightened up to 6.7 mag in 2009 June (June 9, Marco Goiato). Now it is 16.0 mag (Mar. 9, 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) Mar. 13 11 35.26 56 14.1 2.897 3.583 126 16.4 0:16 (180, -1) Mar. 20 11 13.27 57 10.8 3.013 3.646 122 16.6 23:20 (180, -2) 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 16.6 mag (Feb. 20, P. Bacci). 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) Mar. 13 6 4.58 20 35.5 2.064 2.426 98 16.5 19:46 (162, 32) Mar. 20 6 12.72 21 5.6 2.208 2.482 93 16.8 19:36 (160, 31) 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) Mar. 13 3 36.44 25 57.6 1.772 1.641 65 16.9 19:46 (133, 11) Mar. 20 3 55.68 27 40.1 1.807 1.631 63 16.9 19:36 (135, 10) 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) Mar. 13 4 27.60 20 10.0 5.432 5.285 76 17.1 19:46 (139, 23) Mar. 20 4 28.06 20 12.9 5.619 5.349 69 17.3 19:36 (135, 20) 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. But it is fading rapidly now. Now it is 17.3 mag (Mar. 11, 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) Mar. 13 8 43.50 8 47.8 0.836 1.709 137 17.2 21:20 (180, 46) Mar. 20 8 47.19 10 13.6 0.960 1.786 131 17.6 20:56 (180, 45) 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) Mar. 13 4 48.72 23 24.2 3.178 3.187 81 17.2 19:46 (145, 23) Mar. 20 4 56.12 23 30.4 3.276 3.189 76 17.2 19:36 (143, 21) 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) Mar. 13 5 59.06 62 23.8 4.120 4.338 95 17.2 19:46 (172, -8) Mar. 20 5 56.07 60 26.5 4.171 4.291 90 17.2 19:36 (169, -7) C/2007 VO53 ( Spacewatch ) Now it is 17.3 mag (Jan. 23, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable at 17.5 mag in good condition for a long time in 2010. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 13 22 58.58 70 12.2 5.043 4.855 73 17.4 4:31 (204,-38) Mar. 20 23 3.35 70 46.2 5.072 4.852 71 17.4 4:38 (204,-36) C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught ) Now it is 17.4 mag (Feb. 17, 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) Mar. 13 18 51.46 33 1.9 6.537 6.354 75 17.8 4:31 (217, 10) Mar. 20 18 54.48 33 58.0 6.532 6.405 78 17.9 4:38 (211, 13) C/2009 Y1 ( Catalina ) It will reach up to 15 mag and will be observable in good condition from autum to winter in 2010. In the Northern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time while it is brightening gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Mar. 13 11 1.70 69 49.6 3.652 4.144 113 18.0 23:36 (180,-15) Mar. 20 10 41.71 70 56.0 3.668 4.092 108 17.9 22:48 (180,-16) 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) Mar. 13 6 16.89 31 6.6 4.600 4.894 101 20.2 19:46 (168, 23) Mar. 20 6 18.25 31 3.7 4.700 4.885 94 20.2 19:36 (164, 22)