Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2010 Apr. 24: South)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on April 26, 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 7.9 mag (Apr. 17, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will be observable at 8-9 mag in good condition from April to May. After that, it keeps observable for a long time until when it fades out in the Northern Hemisphere, although it will be low in July. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 20 28.45 58 41.9 1.278 1.425 76 8.2 5:05 (190, -5) May 1 20 59.42 68 29.5 1.328 1.422 73 8.3 5:10 (187,-14) C/2009 R1 ( McNaught ) It has been unobservable for a while, but now it is appearing in the morning sky. Now it is 10.2 mag, much brighter than expected (Apr. 17, Marco Goiato). It will approach to the sun down to 0.4 A.U. in July, and it is expected to reach up to 2-3 mag. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable only until June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 23 15.51 4 27.2 2.140 1.559 42 10.5 5:05 (249, 21) May 1 23 29.35 8 8.9 1.961 1.440 45 9.9 5:10 (242, 22) 81P/Wild 2 Now it is so bright as 9.2 mag (Mar. 20, Marco Goiato). It will be fading gradually after late May. But it keeps observable in a good condition for a long time. 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) Apr. 24 14 8.36 -4 50.3 0.704 1.705 172 10.0 0:02 (180, 60) May 1 14 5.84 -4 42.5 0.732 1.730 167 10.3 23:28 (180, 60) 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 11.7 mag (Apr. 17, 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) Apr. 24 20 17.68 -31 13.9 3.975 4.167 93 11.3 5:05 (259, 76) May 1 20 14.64 -32 37.4 3.890 4.209 101 11.4 5:10 (251, 83) 10P/Tempel 2 Now it is 13.5 mag (Apr. 22, A. Novichonok, D. Chestnov). It is 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) Apr. 24 20 23.41 -11 12.8 1.285 1.606 88 12.3 5:05 (218, 61) May 1 20 43.47 -10 35.9 1.210 1.574 89 11.9 5:10 (212, 62) C/2007 Q3 ( Siding Spring ) It brightened up to 9.5 mag on Jan. 13 (Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading rapidly. But it is still bright as 11.9 mag (Apr. 10, Carlos Labordena). It will be observable in good condition for a long time after this in the Northern Hemisphere. It keeps visible visually until summer. In mid March, the nuclear fragmentation was observed. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 15 6.82 63 37.6 2.771 3.150 102 12.2 1:00 (180, -9) May 1 15 0.34 63 58.4 2.854 3.201 100 12.4 0:27 (180, -9) P/2010 H2 ( Vales ) Bright new comet discovered as a bright stellar object of 12.5 mag on Apr. 16. It was not detected, fainter than 20 mag, on the previous day (Apr. 15, Catalina Sky Survey). It was discovered just after the sudden outburst. Now the coma is expanding. It keeps observable good condition for a while. The coma will be expanding rapidly after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 13 33.48 4 47.7 2.148 3.115 160 12.3 23:23 (180, 50) May 1 13 28.59 4 42.1 2.176 3.118 154 12.4 22:51 (180, 50) 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, but it is not observable. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 1 56.24 18 10.5 2.556 1.559 5 12.8 5:05 (261,-19) May 1 2 17.95 19 21.0 2.523 1.523 5 12.6 5:10 (258,-18) C/2010 F4 ( Machholz ) Bright new comet discovered at 11 mag in the extremely low sky at dawn. Now it is 10.7 mag (Mar. 27, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It was observed only about one week. It will never be observable again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 2 35.98 21 8.6 1.685 0.725 11 12.7 18:50 (105,-16) May 1 3 1.80 17 12.2 1.800 0.812 7 13.4 18:43 (102,-13) C/2009 O2 ( Catalina ) It became very diffuse with no condensation on Mar. 12 (Hidetaka Sato). This comet seems to have already stopped its cometary activity. Only very faint remnant like a ghost is detected now. However, it is still reported so bright as 10.7 mag visually (Apr. 16, Marco Goiato). In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be too low in early May. In the Southern Hemisphere, it keeps observable for a long time after this, but it keeps locating low. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 5 5.47 14 2.7 1.339 0.927 43 12.8 18:50 (121, 16) May 1 5 21.90 9 15.3 1.515 1.018 41 12.9 18:43 (116, 19) 65P/Gunn Now it is visible visually at 13.4 mag (Mar. 25, Chris Wyatt). 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) Apr. 24 20 33.19 -24 59.6 2.262 2.462 89 13.3 5:05 (246, 70) May 1 20 42.15 -25 3.5 2.184 2.468 94 13.2 5:10 (235, 74) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Great outburst up to 11 mag occured on Feb. 2. Now it is still bright as 11.7 mag (Apr. 17, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Another new minor outburst occured up to 12.7 mag on Apr. 16 (Albert Sanchez Caso). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 9 16.44 13 20.4 5.889 6.207 103 13.8 19:07 (180, 42) May 1 9 17.26 13 14.9 6.000 6.208 97 13.8 18:43 (179, 42) 141P/Machholz 2 Not observed in this apparition yet. The condition of this apparition is very bad. It locates in the extremely low sky at dawn only. It will be unobservable after May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 0 9.69 8 50.1 1.715 0.962 28 14.9 5:05 (254, 8) May 1 0 44.16 12 2.4 1.681 0.898 26 14.3 5:10 (251, 5) 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) Apr. 24 1 10.02 22 7.0 2.779 1.835 16 14.7 5:05 (251,-12) May 1 1 23.94 25 13.3 2.787 1.863 18 14.8 5:10 (246,-10) C/2010 G1 ( Boattini ) Bright new comet. Now it is 13.2 mag (Apr. 5, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It will become low in the evening sky very rapidly, and it will not be observable in early May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 5 2.65 15 25.8 1.781 1.251 43 14.7 18:50 (121, 15) May 1 5 18.84 11 28.8 1.866 1.284 40 14.9 18:43 (117, 17) P/2010 A5 ( LINEAR ) Now it is visible visually at 14.5 mag (Mar. 15, Juan Jose Gonzalez). 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) Apr. 24 16 7.15 -30 55.5 0.781 1.712 146 14.8 2:01 (180, 86) May 1 16 10.30 -30 45.7 0.759 1.716 152 14.7 1:36 (180, 86) 104P/Kowal 2 The condition of this apparition is very bad. It will go away without any observations. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 3 14.89 16 60.0 2.109 1.187 17 15.1 18:50 (106, -6) May 1 3 42.84 17 59.5 2.104 1.181 17 15.0 18:43 (108, -5) P/2010 A3 ( Hill ) It became bright more rapidly than expected. Now it is 14.8 mag (Apr. 6, Catalina Sky Survey). It will be visible visually. It keeps 15 mag for a while. But it will be getting lower gradually in the evening sky. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 5 47.69 33 16.6 2.005 1.639 54 15.3 18:50 (141, 8) May 1 6 12.09 33 38.1 2.052 1.652 52 15.3 18:43 (142, 9) 116P/Wild 4 It brightened up to 11 mag in spring and summer in 2009. Appearing in the morninig sky again. Now it is 16.7 mag (Apr. 23, Hidetaka Sato). 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) Apr. 24 20 2.48 -24 26.4 2.566 2.850 95 15.3 5:05 (229, 75) May 1 20 6.79 -24 24.2 2.498 2.876 101 15.3 5:10 (206, 78) C/2008 FK75 ( Lemmon-Siding Spring ) Now it is 15.5 mag (Feb. 20, S. Plaksa, E. Bryssinck). It is also visible visually at 14.5 mag (Apr. 10, Juan Jose Gonzalez). 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) Apr. 24 18 4.52 31 0.2 4.281 4.689 107 15.4 3:58 (180, 24) May 1 18 4.38 32 38.9 4.226 4.674 110 15.3 3:30 (180, 22) C/2009 F4 ( McNaught ) Now it is 15.6 mag (Apr. 11, John Drummond). It keeps bright as 14-15 mag for a long time after this until 2013. It is observable in good condition in the Southern Hemisphere. However, it is not observable in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 15 32.58 -46 43.0 6.219 7.033 141 15.4 1:27 ( 0, 78) May 1 15 26.55 -47 12.1 6.146 7.002 145 15.4 0:53 ( 0, 78) 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh Now it is 15.3 mag (Mar. 26, P. Concari, S. Foglia, G. Galli, M. Tombelli). 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) Apr. 24 13 34.83 -2 14.4 2.688 3.675 167 15.5 23:24 (180, 57) May 1 13 30.66 -2 0.5 2.717 3.680 160 15.5 22:53 (180, 57) C/2009 U3 ( Hill ) Now it is 15.1 mag (Apr. 3, 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) Apr. 24 7 12.22 75 54.8 1.414 1.499 74 15.5 18:50 (174,-22) May 1 8 38.12 73 5.2 1.424 1.535 76 15.6 18:43 (177,-18) 30P/Reinmuth 1 It became visible visually at 13.3 mag in winter (Feb. 3, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading slowly. It will be getting lower in the evening sky after this. It will be too low to observe in July. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 7 4.23 24 41.3 1.954 1.884 71 15.5 18:50 (152, 25) May 1 7 21.20 24 33.7 2.016 1.887 68 15.6 18:43 (151, 24) 94P/Russell 4 Now it is 15.6 mag (Mar. 17, Toshiyuki Takahashi). 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) Apr. 24 10 14.29 19 50.9 1.635 2.247 114 15.6 20:05 (180, 35) May 1 10 19.10 18 57.3 1.709 2.251 109 15.7 19:42 (180, 36) 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 It brightened up to 11.5 mag in January (Jan. 12, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 14.9 mag (Apr. 9, E. Bryssinck, A. Novichonok, D. Chestnov). It will be getting fainter and lower rapidly after this. It will be unobservable in June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 7 31.17 19 44.9 2.145 2.168 77 15.9 18:50 (156, 31) May 1 7 44.53 19 38.4 2.239 2.190 74 16.1 18:43 (154, 31) C/2006 S3 ( LONEOS ) Now it is 16.9 mag (Jan. 9, Ken-ichi Kadota). Brightening more slowly than expected. It will be observable at 13-14 mag for a long time from 2011 to 2012. It is getting higher gradually after this. In 2010, it is observable at 15-16 mag in good condition from spring to autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 22 0.52 1 16.7 7.801 7.377 61 16.0 5:05 (236, 36) May 1 22 0.38 1 29.4 7.656 7.343 68 15.9 5:10 (228, 42) 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 14.8 mag still now (Apr. 7, E. Bryssinck, A. Novichonok, D. Chestnov, L. Elenin). It will be observable in good condition again until spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 12 6.22 42 58.6 7.539 8.061 118 16.5 21:56 (180, 12) May 1 12 0.58 42 51.2 7.653 8.094 112 16.5 21:23 (180, 12) C/2008 N1 ( Holmes ) Now it is 17.2 mag (Apr. 4, Ken-ichi Kadota). It keeps observable in good condition for a while, but it will be fading after this. It will be fainter than 18 mag in July. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 12 47.64 27 47.5 2.709 3.497 135 16.7 22:36 (180, 27) May 1 12 33.05 26 45.1 2.813 3.538 129 16.8 21:55 (180, 28) 213P/2009 B3 ( Van Ness ) It brightened up to 13 mag in major outburst in 2005. It was recovered at 20.7 mag in 2009 January. However, no observations have been reported after 2009 April. The current brightness is quite uncertain. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 13 4.02 -21 55.6 2.376 3.350 162 17.3 22:54 (180, 77) May 1 12 58.66 -21 22.1 2.374 3.325 156 17.2 22:21 (180, 76) C/2009 F2 ( McNaught ) Now it is 17.2 mag (Apr. 10, Hidetaka Sato). It was observed at 17.5 mag in 2009 spring. It will be observable at 17.5 mag again in 2010 spring. However, it locates low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 13 35.69 -19 1.5 4.989 5.983 170 17.3 23:25 (180, 74) May 1 13 33.05 -18 1.4 5.011 5.992 165 17.3 22:55 (180, 73) C/2009 K2 ( Catalina ) Now it is 17.7 mag (Mar. 21, Hidetaka Sato). It will reach up to 17 mag in spring and summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 20 56.92 -3 31.6 3.380 3.325 78 17.4 5:05 (224, 50) May 1 21 1.15 -4 17.8 3.290 3.340 84 17.3 5:10 (214, 54) C/2006 OF2 ( Broughton ) It brightned up to 10 mag from late 2008 to early 2009. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.2 mag (Apr. 9, E. Bryssinck, A. Novichonok, D. Chestnov, L. Elenin). It will be fainter than 18 mag in June. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 9 37.40 4 4.7 5.741 6.179 111 17.3 19:28 (180, 51) May 1 9 37.57 4 2.3 5.899 6.232 104 17.4 19:01 (180, 51) 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) Apr. 24 23 20.81 75 31.0 5.153 4.843 66 17.4 5:05 (194,-27) May 1 23 21.40 76 47.9 5.157 4.843 66 17.4 5:10 (192,-27) C/2006 Q1 ( McNaught ) Now it is 17.4 mag (Feb. 17, Hidetaka Sato). It will be fainter than 18 mag in July. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 19 1.18 38 39.9 6.508 6.657 94 17.4 4:54 (180, 16) May 1 19 0.72 39 31.6 6.507 6.708 97 17.5 4:26 (180, 15) 235P/2010 F2 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 18.0 mag (Apr. 3, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will be fainter than 18 mag soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 11 27.60 -0 47.9 1.915 2.755 139 17.8 21:18 (180, 56) May 1 11 27.64 -0 16.9 1.979 2.758 132 17.9 20:51 (180, 55) C/2008 Q3 ( Garradd ) It brightened up to 6.7 mag in 2009 June (June 9, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.5 mag (Mar. 31, Hidetaka Sato). It will be fainter than 18 mag in May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Apr. 24 9 55.21 56 8.9 3.766 3.963 93 17.8 19:45 (180, -1) May 1 9 47.43 55 23.8 3.933 4.026 88 18.1 19:10 (180, 0)