Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2017 Feb. 11: North)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on February 14, 2017
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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.

45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova Now it is 6.9 mag (Feb. 6, Seiichi Yoshida). It will approach to the earth down to 0.08 a.u. to the earth in mid February, and it will be observable at 6 mag in good condition. Then it will fade out very rapidly, and will be fainter than 10 mag in late February. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 16 52.35 24 15.2 0.083 0.975 79 6.4 5:25 (283, 60) Feb. 18 13 5.23 32 32.8 0.121 1.076 133 7.9 3:19 ( 0, 88) 2P/Encke Already bright as 10.7 mag (Jan. 31, Thomas Lehmann). It will pass the perihelion on Mar. 10. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in the evening sky until late February while the comet will be brightening up to 8.5 mag. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will appear in the morning sky in late March at 8 mag, then it stays observable while the comet will be fading. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 23 52.01 7 19.8 1.146 0.736 39 9.7 19:03 ( 84, 21) Feb. 18 0 2.04 7 38.9 1.034 0.607 34 8.9 19:09 ( 88, 17) C/2015 V2 ( Johnson ) Now it is 10.4 mag (Jan. 30, Thomas Lehmann). It is expected to brighten up to 7 mag in summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition until the highlight while the comet will be brightening. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays extremely low for a while. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 15 51.94 45 3.7 1.924 2.275 97 9.7 5:25 (225, 74) Feb. 18 16 2.63 45 26.2 1.837 2.216 98 9.5 5:18 (220, 76) C/2015 ER61 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 11.2 mag (Feb. 1, Chris Wyatt). It is expected to brighten up to 7 mag in spring. But it locates somewhat low at the high light. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 16 58.37 -23 45.8 1.888 1.743 66 10.3 5:25 (328, 24) Feb. 18 17 22.84 -23 54.6 1.762 1.662 67 9.9 5:18 (327, 23) C/2016 U1 ( NEOWISE ) It brightened rapidly up to 6.8 mag (Jan. 6, Katsumi Yoshimoto). It approached to the sun down to 0.3 a.u. on Jan. 14. Michael Mattiazzo reported that the comet was visible in the SWAN images from Jan. 19 to Jan. 29 while it faded from 5 mag to 7 mag. It is not observable after this in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will appear in the extremely low sky in the evening soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 22 13.39 -33 17.6 1.657 0.814 20 11.2 19:03 ( 63,-21) Feb. 18 22 51.41 -32 5.6 1.788 0.958 22 12.1 19:09 ( 64,-19) 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak Now it is 12.8 mag (Jan. 29, Jakub Cerny). It will approach to the earth down to 0.14 a.u. from March to April. It is expected to brighten up to 5-6 mag. It may brighten furthermore in outburst. It is observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will not be observable for about one month around the highlight. But it stays observable in good condition except for that period. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 9 33.68 15 2.2 0.331 1.318 178 12.7 0:10 ( 0, 70) Feb. 18 9 35.95 19 4.1 0.282 1.266 169 11.4 23:42 ( 0, 74) 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Bright new fragment BT was discovered on Feb. 10. Now the primary component is 13.4 mag (Jan. 28, Piotr Guzik), and the fragment BT is 11.3 mag (Feb. 11, Francois Kugel). It will be unobservable soon in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable for a long time after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 18 8.55 -20 7.2 1.406 1.085 50 12.2 5:25 (311, 17) Feb. 18 18 45.18 -20 53.0 1.387 1.045 48 12.0 5:18 (309, 14) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Now it is not observable. It will appear in the morning sky in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 20 44.13 -19 2.6 6.819 5.866 13 13.9 5:25 (286,-10) Feb. 18 20 49.78 -18 36.6 6.787 5.864 19 13.9 5:18 (288, -7) 315P/2013 V6 ( LONEOS ) Now it is 13.7 mag (Jan. 24, Juan Jose Gonzalez). It is observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It stays low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 12 5.85 30 11.2 1.620 2.477 142 14.1 2:42 ( 0, 85) Feb. 18 12 3.57 30 58.6 1.603 2.489 146 14.1 2:13 ( 0, 86) 103P/Hartley 2 It has not been observed yet in this apparition. The condition of this apparition is worst. It will brighten up to 10 mag in spring, but not observable at all. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 21 59.08 -4 36.2 2.361 1.404 10 14.5 19:03 ( 91, -8) Feb. 18 22 21.07 -3 0.6 2.313 1.348 9 14.1 19:09 ( 94,-10) C/2016 R2 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is bright as 14.4 mag (Jan. 14, Thomas Lehmann). It will be observable at 11 mag for a long time from 2017 to 2018. Now it is observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. But it stays low for a while in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 2 48.64 -29 1.6 5.350 5.141 72 14.8 19:03 ( 24, 22) Feb. 18 2 50.62 -27 36.8 5.373 5.088 68 14.7 19:09 ( 31, 20) 71P/Clark Now it is 16.9 mag (Jan. 26, Alexander Baransky). It will brighten up to 10 mag in summer, and it will be observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It locates low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 15 8.83 -9 53.7 1.699 2.032 94 15.2 5:25 (353, 45) Feb. 18 15 20.21 -10 43.0 1.591 1.996 98 14.9 5:18 (356, 44) C/2011 KP36 ( Spacewatch ) Now it is 14.3 mag (Dec. 31, Jakub Cerny). It will be unobservable in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 1 8.45 -2 22.0 5.764 5.232 53 15.0 19:03 ( 63, 30) Feb. 18 1 13.86 -1 52.7 5.865 5.250 47 15.0 19:09 ( 68, 25) 93P/Lovas 1 Now it is 14.8 mag (Dec. 31, Yuji Ohshima). It stays 15 mag until spring. But it is already unobservable in the Southern Hemisphere. It will be getting lower gradually after this also in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 0 42.98 14 21.8 2.096 1.711 53 15.1 19:03 ( 83, 36) Feb. 18 1 0.71 16 16.4 2.133 1.704 51 15.1 19:09 ( 87, 33) 65P/Gunn Now it is 15.7 mag (Jan. 4, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It will brighten up to 14 mag from spring to summer. It locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere. The perihelion distance increased from 2.4 a.u. to 2.9 a.u. in this apparition. So it will not be bright as before. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 16 0.99 -17 40.1 3.162 3.153 80 15.3 5:25 (339, 35) Feb. 18 16 7.60 -18 5.7 3.052 3.140 85 15.2 5:18 (343, 35) C/2015 VL62 ( Lemmon-Yeung-PanSTARRS ) Now it is 15.8 mag (Jan. 1, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will brighten up to 12-13 mag and will be observable in good condition in summer. It ia already unobservable in the Southern Hemisphere. It will be unobservable soon also in the Northern Hemisphere. It will appear in the morning sky in May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 0 7.77 13 41.5 4.001 3.395 46 15.4 19:03 ( 88, 28) Feb. 18 0 8.20 13 28.7 4.057 3.354 39 15.3 19:09 ( 92, 21) C/2015 O1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.7 mag (Nov. 3, Kunihiro Shima). It will be observable at 13 mag for a long time from 2017 to 2018. It is appearing in the morning sky again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 19 5.47 -1 53.9 5.655 4.936 39 15.5 5:25 (287, 20) Feb. 18 19 7.55 -1 2.8 5.541 4.898 45 15.4 5:18 (290, 24) 81P/Wild 2 It brightened up to 11 mag from spring to summer in 2016. It is appearing in the morning sky again. It will be observable at 16-17 mag in good condition from spring to summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 18 55.54 -20 56.1 3.141 2.458 39 15.6 5:25 (304, 9) Feb. 18 19 7.59 -20 38.8 3.121 2.499 43 15.6 5:18 (305, 11) 43P/Wolf-Harrington It brightened up to 11-12 mag from summer to autumn. Now it is fading. But it is bright as 13.6 mag still now (Jan. 24, Seiichi Yoshida). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 12 28.23 -27 26.2 1.576 2.254 121 15.7 3:05 ( 0, 27) Feb. 18 12 24.32 -27 39.0 1.556 2.303 128 15.8 2:33 ( 0, 27) 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh Now it is 15.6 mag (Jan. 9, J. L. Martin). It stays observable at 16 mag in good condition until spring. It locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 6 46.38 27 41.6 2.942 3.733 137 15.8 21:20 ( 0, 83) Feb. 18 6 44.31 27 44.2 3.009 3.726 130 15.8 20:50 ( 0, 83) C/2014 B1 ( Schwartz ) Now it is 15.6 mag (Jan. 26, Alexander Baransky). It stays 16-17 mag for a long time from 2016 to 2019. It stays near by the equator. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 9 12.69 3 4.6 8.664 9.629 167 15.9 23:46 ( 0, 58) Feb. 18 9 11.09 3 23.3 8.670 9.624 164 15.9 23:16 ( 0, 58) 144P/Kushida It brightened up to 11-12 mag in autumn. Now it is fading. But it is bright as 13.9 mag still now (Jan. 24, Seiichi Yoshida). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 13 54.79 -16 37.6 1.706 2.240 109 15.9 4:31 ( 0, 38) Feb. 18 13 55.71 -16 48.1 1.672 2.289 116 16.1 4:04 ( 0, 38) C/2016 B1 ( NEOWISE ) It was observed at 16 mag from spring to summer in 2016. It will be observable at 16 mag also in 2017 from winter to spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 17 37.30 -6 26.9 3.658 3.272 59 16.1 5:25 (308, 33) Feb. 18 17 45.39 -5 0.4 3.586 3.286 64 16.1 5:18 (310, 36) C/2014 W2 ( PanSTARRS ) It stayed bright 12 mag for a long time from autum in 2015 to summer in 2016. Now it is fading. It has already faded dwon to 15.6 mag (Jan. 6, Hiroshi Abe). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 17 20.30 -5 44.4 4.641 4.299 63 16.2 5:25 (311, 36) Feb. 18 17 22.47 -6 9.1 4.588 4.350 69 16.2 5:18 (316, 38) C/2013 US10 ( Catalina ) It brightened up to 6 mag from autumn in 2015 to early 2016. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.0 mag (Jan. 1, Yuji Ohshima). It is observable in good condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not observable after this in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 2 54.13 46 23.6 5.651 5.783 92 16.4 19:03 (130, 69) Feb. 18 2 54.62 45 43.3 5.827 5.848 86 16.5 19:09 (124, 64) C/2016 A1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.4 mag (Jan. 3, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It stays 16 mag for a long time from 2017 to 2018. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 8 58.08 -4 40.3 4.802 5.733 158 16.5 23:30 ( 0, 50) Feb. 18 8 51.73 -3 24.2 4.796 5.714 156 16.5 22:57 ( 0, 52) C/2015 V1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.5 mag (Dec. 29, Sandor Szabo). It will brighten up to 15 mag and will be observable in good condition from autum to winter in 2017. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition for a long time while the comet will be brightening. It is not observable until summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 1 52.67 40 21.5 5.041 4.968 80 16.5 19:03 (112, 59) Feb. 18 1 53.19 39 13.6 5.131 4.940 73 16.5 19:09 (111, 52) C/2015 TQ209 ( LINEAR ) It has not been observed since last April. Now it is fading. But it must be bright as 16 mag still now. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 16 43.73 -20 49.3 2.824 2.654 70 16.5 5:25 (329, 28) Feb. 18 16 50.99 -20 40.5 2.801 2.726 75 16.6 5:18 (333, 29) C/2014 OE4 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.5 mag (Dec. 26, A. Diepvens). It stays 16.5 mag from 2016 to 2017. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition for a long time. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 18 26.29 40 54.6 6.516 6.259 70 16.6 5:25 (245, 47) Feb. 18 18 31.94 42 8.5 6.484 6.262 72 16.6 5:18 (244, 50) C/2016 M1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.8 mag (Jan. 6, D. Buczynski). It is expected to brighten up to 9 mag in summer in 2018. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable until 2018 summer while the comet will be brightening. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is hardly observable in 2017, but it will be observable in good condition in 2018. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 18 49.92 45 14.8 6.168 5.912 70 16.7 5:25 (238, 44) Feb. 18 18 54.64 45 32.7 6.094 5.857 71 16.6 5:18 (238, 47) 213P/Van Ness It has not been observed yet in this apparition. It will brighten up to 12 mag in summer. It will be observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 17 10.35 -31 52.4 2.864 2.575 63 17.1 5:25 (329, 15) Feb. 18 17 23.33 -32 14.1 2.757 2.546 67 16.9 5:18 (331, 16) C/2014 R3 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 17.1 mag (Jan. 9, ATLAS-HKO, Haleakala). It brightened rapidly, and became brighter than originally expected. It stays 17 mag until 2017. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in excellent condition for a long time. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 13 23.35 59 53.7 6.847 7.372 118 16.9 4:00 (180, 65) Feb. 18 13 15.84 60 26.2 6.833 7.380 120 16.9 3:25 (180, 65) C/2013 V4 ( Catalina ) It brightened up to 15 mag in early 2016. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.3 mag (Dec. 30, Sandor Szabo). In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition for a long time until 2017 autumn when the comet will be fainter than 18 mag. It will never be observable after this in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 15 36.58 69 12.8 6.043 6.343 103 16.9 5:25 (187, 55) Feb. 18 15 36.34 69 47.3 6.068 6.372 103 17.0 5:18 (184, 55) C/2016 VZ18 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 19.4 mag (Jan. 25, D. Abreu, et al.). Small comet, but it approaches to the sun down to 0.9 a.u., and to the earth down to 0.5 a.u., and it will brighten up to 16-17 mag from February to April. It is observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable only until mid February. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 1 59.84 12 10.8 0.737 1.009 69 17.4 19:03 ( 66, 50) Feb. 18 2 8.35 18 39.7 0.695 0.962 67 17.0 19:09 ( 79, 49) C/2015 X7 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 17.2 mag (Jan. 8, D. Buczynski). It was observed at 17 mag last winter. It will be observable at 17 mag again next winter. It is observable in good condition in the Northern Hemisphere. But it locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 11 22.78 33 6.3 3.193 4.075 149 17.1 1:59 ( 0, 88) Feb. 18 11 19.84 34 51.0 3.206 4.101 151 17.2 1:29 ( 0, 90) P/2015 TP200 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 16.1 mag (Dec. 30, Yuji Ohshima). It is observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. It will be fainter than 18 mag in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 6 42.25 34 8.5 2.687 3.461 135 17.1 21:16 ( 0, 89) Feb. 18 6 41.66 33 47.9 2.767 3.472 128 17.2 20:48 ( 0, 89) C/2010 U3 ( Boattini ) It will pass the perihelion in 2019. However, it has not been brightening since the discovery in 2010. Now it is 17.1 mag (Jan. 4, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It stays observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 3 42.00 60 44.6 9.242 9.508 102 17.2 19:03 (167, 63) Feb. 18 3 42.71 60 32.1 9.311 9.489 97 17.2 19:09 (160, 61) C/2016 T2 ( Matheny ) Now it is 17.2 mag (Dec. 30, A. Diepvens). In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable at 17-18 mag until March. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 18 30.12 64 38.3 1.782 1.982 86 17.2 5:25 (210, 46) Feb. 18 18 21.99 69 12.2 1.751 2.007 89 17.2 5:18 (203, 47) 118P/Shoemaker-Levy 4 Now it is 18.2 mag (Dec. 6, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). It was expected to be observable at 17 mag in good condition in winter. But actually, it is fainter than this ephemeris. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 12 50.60 -0 14.9 1.912 2.659 130 17.3 3:27 ( 0, 55) Feb. 18 12 49.14 0 24.9 1.873 2.689 137 17.3 2:58 ( 0, 55) 56P/Slaughter-Burnham It brightened up to 14.6 mag from autum to winter (Dec. 2, Kunihiro Shima). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 16.3 mag (Jan. 5, E. Bryssinck). It will be fainter than 18 mag in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 4 16.83 30 48.5 2.534 2.952 105 17.3 19:03 ( 32, 85) Feb. 18 4 22.73 30 38.5 2.650 2.979 99 17.5 19:09 ( 65, 81) 94P/Russell 4 Now it is 17.4 mag (Jan. 25, Alexander Baransky). It is observable at 17.5 mag in good condition from winter to spring. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 14 53.17 -10 35.3 1.994 2.347 98 17.5 5:25 (358, 44) Feb. 18 14 59.28 -10 58.4 1.925 2.362 103 17.5 5:08 ( 0, 44) C/2014 S2 ( PanSTARRS ) It brightened up to 8-9 mag from winter to spring in 2016. Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.1 mag (Dec. 6, T. Ikemura, H. Sato). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 13 6.39 -14 57.4 4.391 4.971 120 17.5 3:43 ( 0, 40) Feb. 18 13 2.38 -15 21.2 4.353 5.028 128 17.6 3:11 ( 0, 40) C/2017 A3 ( Elenin ) Now it is 17.3 mag (Jan. 8, CAO, San Pedro de Atacama). It is observable at 17.5 mag in good condition in this winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 5 59.06 -39 19.3 3.468 3.861 106 17.6 20:32 ( 0, 16) Feb. 18 5 53.61 -36 29.0 3.507 3.862 103 17.6 19:59 ( 0, 19) 330P/2015 U1 ( Catalina ) Now it is 18.9 mag (Dec. 27, K. Hills). It is observable at 18 mag in good condition from January to March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 10 41.64 -8 17.8 2.283 3.192 152 17.8 1:18 ( 0, 47) Feb. 18 10 37.21 -8 27.2 2.271 3.211 158 17.8 0:47 ( 0, 46) C/2013 X1 ( PanSTARRS ) It brightened up to 6.2 mag in June in 2016 (June 24, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 17.1 mag (Jan. 6, B. Lutkenhoner, W. F. Cashwell). In the Southern Hemisphee, it stays observable in excellent condition after this. It stays low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 11 14 54.13 -34 45.3 3.850 3.988 90 17.9 5:25 (359, 20) Feb. 18 14 48.17 -34 58.5 3.790 4.058 98 18.1 4:57 ( 0, 20)