Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2010 May 1: South)

Japanese version
Home page
Updated on May 5, 2010
Last week North Next week

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 8.3 mag (May 3, Seiichi Yoshida). 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)  
May   1  20 59.42   68 29.5   1.328   1.422    73    8.3   5:10 (187,-14)  
May   8  21 57.37   76 45.3   1.408   1.427    70    8.4   5:15 (186,-23)  

* C/2009 R1 ( McNaught )

It has been unobservable for a while, but now it is appearing in the morning sky. Now it is 10.0 mag, much brighter than originally expected (Apr. 25, 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)  
May   1  23 29.35    8  8.9   1.961   1.440    45    9.9   5:10 (242, 22)  
May   8  23 45.46   12 30.0   1.783   1.318    46    9.2   5:15 (236, 22)  

* 81P/Wild 2

It reached up to 9.2 mag in March (Mar. 20, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading, but still bright as 9.8 mag (May 3, Marco Goiato). 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)  
May   1  14  5.84   -4 42.5   0.732   1.730   167   10.3  23:28 (180, 60)  
May   8  14  3.90   -4 44.4   0.769   1.757   161   10.5  22:59 (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. 25, 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)  
May   1  20 14.64  -32 37.4   3.890   4.209   101   11.4   5:10 (251, 83)  
May   8  20 10.38  -34  6.4   3.811   4.251   109   11.4   5:08 (180, 89)  

* 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)  
May   1  20 43.47  -10 35.9   1.210   1.574    89   11.9   5:10 (212, 62)  
May   8  21  3.91   -9 57.5   1.141   1.545    91   11.5   5:15 (206, 63)  

* 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. It is bright as 11.7 mag still now (May 2, Seiichi Yoshida). The coma is expanding up to 2 arcmin.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)  
May   1  13 28.59    4 42.1   2.176   3.118   154   12.4  22:51 (180, 50)  
May   8  13 24.22    4 29.6   2.216   3.120   148   12.4  22:19 (180, 51)  

* 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 12.6 mag (May 3, Seiichi Yoshida). 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)  
May   1  15  0.34   63 58.4   2.854   3.201   100   12.4   0:27 (180, -9)  
May   8  14 53.85   64  1.4   2.939   3.253    99   12.6  23:48 (180, -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, but it is not observable.

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   1   2 17.95   19 21.0   2.523   1.523     5   12.6   5:10 (258,-18)  
May   8   2 40.47   20 24.3   2.492   1.490     5   12.4   5:15 (256,-16)  

* 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)  
May   1   5 21.90    9 15.3   1.515   1.018    41   12.9  18:43 (116, 19)  
May   8   5 34.66    5 24.7   1.684   1.115    39   12.9  18:37 (112, 20)  

* 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)  
May   1  20 42.15  -25  3.5   2.184   2.468    94   13.2   5:10 (235, 74)  
May   8  20 50.25  -25 11.3   2.108   2.475    98   13.1   5:15 (218, 78)  

* 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)  
May   1   3  1.80   17 12.2   1.800   0.812     7   13.4  18:43 (102,-13)  
May   8   3 23.52   13 31.9   1.904   0.910     6   14.0  18:37 ( 99,-11)  

* 141P/Machholz 2

Chris Wyatt reported it was visible visually at 11.3 mag on Apr. 25. But no other observations have been reported. 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)  
May   1   0 44.16   12  2.4   1.681   0.898    26   14.3   5:10 (251,  5)  
May   8   1 20.90   15  4.3   1.664   0.842    23   13.6   5:15 (250,  3)  

* 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

Great outburst up to 11 mag occured on Feb. 2. Another new minor outburst occured up to 12.7 mag on Apr. 16 (Albert Sanchez Caso). It is bright as 11.3 mag still now (May 3, Seiichi Yoshida).

Date(TT)  R.A. (2000) Decl.   Delta     r    Elong.  m1   Best Time(A, h)  
May   1   9 17.26   13 14.9   6.000   6.208    97   13.8  18:43 (179, 42)  
May   8   9 18.57   13  7.1   6.112   6.209    90   13.9  18:37 (173, 42)  

* 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)  
May   1  16 10.30  -30 45.7   0.759   1.716   152   14.7   1:36 (180, 86)  
May   8  16 11.96  -30 23.3   0.744   1.723   158   14.7   1:10 (180, 85)  

* 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)  
May   1   1 23.94   25 13.3   2.787   1.863    18   14.8   5:10 (246,-10)  
May   8   1 38.20   28 16.0   2.793   1.893    21   14.9   5:15 (241, -9)  

* 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)  
May   1   5 18.84   11 28.8   1.866   1.284    40   14.9  18:43 (117, 17)  
May   8   5 33.78    7 47.9   1.950   1.325    38   15.2  18:37 (113, 18)  

* 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)  
May   1   3 42.84   17 59.5   2.104   1.181    17   15.0  18:43 (108, -5)  
May   8   4 11.32   18 44.1   2.105   1.180    17   15.0  18:37 (110, -5)  

* 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)  
May   1  18  4.38   32 38.9   4.226   4.674   110   15.3   3:30 (180, 22)  
May   8  18  3.52   34 13.9   4.178   4.660   112   15.3   3:02 (180, 21)  

* 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)  
May   1   6 12.09   33 38.1   2.052   1.652    52   15.3  18:43 (142,  9)  
May   8   6 36.64   33 42.7   2.102   1.669    51   15.3  18:37 (143,  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)  
May   1  20  6.79  -24 24.2   2.498   2.876   101   15.3   5:10 (206, 78)  
May   8  20  9.98  -24 25.3   2.431   2.902   107   15.4   5:08 (180, 79)  

* 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)  
May   1  15 26.55  -47 12.1   6.146   7.002   145   15.4   0:53 (  0, 78)  
May   8  15 20.09  -47 36.5   6.087   6.972   149   15.4   0:19 (  0, 77)  

* 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)  
May   1  13 30.66   -2  0.5   2.717   3.680   160   15.5  22:53 (180, 57)  
May   8  13 26.89   -1 50.8   2.760   3.686   152   15.5  22:22 (180, 57)  

* 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)  
May   1   7 21.20   24 33.7   2.016   1.887    68   15.6  18:43 (151, 24)  
May   8   7 38.46   24 17.2   2.078   1.891    65   15.7  18:37 (150, 24)  

* 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)  
May   1   8 38.12   73  5.2   1.424   1.535    76   15.6  18:43 (177,-18)  
May   8   9 38.13   68 41.3   1.444   1.576    77   15.8  18:37 (180,-13)  

* 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)  
May   1  10 19.10   18 57.3   1.709   2.251   109   15.7  19:42 (180, 36)  
May   8  10 24.96   17 58.0   1.787   2.257   104   15.9  19:21 (180, 37)  

* 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)  
May   1  22  0.38    1 29.4   7.656   7.343    68   15.9   5:10 (228, 42)  
May   8  21 59.86    1 41.0   7.506   7.308    74   15.9   5:15 (219, 46)  

* 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)  
May   1   7 44.53   19 38.4   2.239   2.190    74   16.1  18:43 (154, 31)  
May   8   7 58.05   19 25.5   2.334   2.213    70   16.2  18:37 (152, 30)  

* 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)  
May   1  12  0.58   42 51.2   7.653   8.094   112   16.5  21:23 (180, 12)  
May   8  11 55.48   42 38.7   7.774   8.127   107   16.6  20:50 (180, 12)  

* C/2008 N1 ( Holmes )

Now it is 16.5 mag (Apr. 17, Hiroshi Abe). 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)  
May   1  12 33.05   26 45.1   2.813   3.538   129   16.8  21:55 (180, 28)  
May   8  12 20.42   25 32.8   2.934   3.580   122   16.9  21:15 (180, 30)  

* 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)  
May   1  12 58.66  -21 22.1   2.374   3.325   156   17.2  22:21 (180, 76)  
May   8  12 53.90  -20 46.4   2.385   3.299   150   17.2  21:49 (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)  
May   1  13 33.05  -18  1.4   5.011   5.992   165   17.3  22:55 (180, 73)  
May   8  13 30.64  -17  1.4   5.049   6.002   158   17.3  22:25 (180, 72)  

* 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)  
May   1  21  1.15   -4 17.8   3.290   3.340    84   17.3   5:10 (214, 54)  
May   8  21  4.68   -5 10.5   3.199   3.356    90   17.3   5:15 (203, 58)  

* 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)  
May   1  23 21.40   76 47.9   5.157   4.843    66   17.4   5:10 (192,-27)  
May   8  23 19.94   78 10.2   5.157   4.843    66   17.4   5:15 (189,-26)  

* 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)  
May   1   9 37.57    4  2.3   5.899   6.232   104   17.4  19:01 (180, 51)  
May   8   9 38.22    3 57.8   6.061   6.285    98   17.6  18:37 (179, 51)  

* 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)  
May   1  19  0.72   39 31.6   6.507   6.708    97   17.5   4:26 (180, 15)  
May   8  18 59.67   40 20.0   6.510   6.758    99   17.5   3:58 (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)  
May   1  11 27.64   -0 16.9   1.979   2.758   132   17.9  20:51 (180, 55)  
May   8  11 28.72    0  6.3   2.050   2.762   125   18.0  20:24 (180, 55)  

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright(C) Seiichi Yoshida (comet@aerith.net). All rights reserved.