Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2019 Feb. 16: South)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on February 16, 2019
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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/2018 Y1 ( Iwamoto ) Now it is very bright as 6.7 mag (Feb. 16, Maik Meyer). It is approaching to Earth down to 0.3 a.u., and it is observable in excellent condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 8 36.38 27 36.6 0.327 1.294 156 6.3 22:38 (180, 26) Feb. 23 6 21.15 34 55.8 0.496 1.309 119 7.2 20:14 (178, 20) 46P/Wirtanen It approached to Earth down to 0.08 a.u. in mid December, and it brightened up to 3.4 mag (Dec. 14, Seiichi Yoshida). it looked so large as 3 times of Moon. Now it is fading. But it is bright as 8.8 mag still now (Feb. 16, Maik Meyer). In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in excellent condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays low for a while. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 9 33.33 50 11.6 0.433 1.356 142 9.0 23:49 (180, 5) Feb. 23 9 36.00 47 50.4 0.497 1.411 141 9.7 23:24 (180, 7) C/2016 M1 ( PanSTARRS ) It brightened up to 7.7 mag in June (June 19, Juan Jose Gonzalez). Now it is fading. But it is still bright as 11.5 mag (Feb. 11, Chris Wyatt). In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition for a long time until the comet will fade out. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable for a long time until autumn when the comet fades out down to 16 mag. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 3 17.82 -68 13.1 3.173 3.066 74 11.6 20:24 ( 23, 49) Feb. 23 3 31.53 -64 54.5 3.216 3.117 75 11.7 20:14 ( 28, 51) 64P/Swift-Gehrels It brightened up to 9.0 mag from autumn to winter (Nov. 16, Maik Meyer). Now it is fading. But it is bright as 11.2 mag still now (Feb. 4, Chris Wyatt). 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. 16 4 42.95 25 50.8 1.309 1.844 105 12.0 20:24 (159, 26) Feb. 23 4 57.95 25 27.0 1.419 1.894 102 12.5 20:14 (158, 26) 38P/Stephan-Oterma It brightened up to 9.5 mag from autumn to winter (Dec. 14, Marco Goiato). Now it is fading. But it is bright as 11.2 mag still now (Feb. 5, Carlos Labordena). In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition for a long time until it fades out. It locates low in the Southern Hemispehre. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 8 26.47 47 17.0 1.125 1.989 140 12.2 22:42 (180, 8) Feb. 23 8 27.62 46 48.2 1.209 2.040 135 12.7 22:16 (180, 8) C/2018 L2 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 12.2 mag (Feb. 2, Ken Harikae). It will be fading gradually after this. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable for a long time until it fades out. But it stays extremely low. It will never be observable again in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 21 27.54 34 10.9 2.502 1.970 47 12.4 4:03 (251,-38) Feb. 23 21 51.72 36 6.6 2.559 2.015 46 12.6 4:11 (248,-36) 78P/Gehrels 2 Now it is 13.5 mag (Jan. 27, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It will be unobservable temporarily soon. But it will appear in the morning sky again at 13-14 mag in August. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 0 22.97 3 2.1 2.708 2.048 39 12.5 20:24 ( 95, 1) Feb. 23 0 37.88 4 22.4 2.746 2.039 36 12.5 20:14 ( 96, 0) 123P/West-Hartley Now it is 12.9 mag (Feb. 3, Chris Wyatt). It is observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 11 35.77 31 30.9 1.214 2.129 150 13.3 1:55 (180, 24) Feb. 23 11 31.24 31 51.3 1.202 2.132 153 13.3 1:23 (180, 23) C/2018 N2 ( ASASSN ) Now it is 14.6 mag (Jan. 22, Thomas Lehmann). It will brighten up to 10-11 mag in autumn. It will be unobservable temporarily in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 1 9.62 -21 50.9 4.639 4.030 46 13.4 20:24 ( 80, 24) Feb. 23 1 12.72 -20 3.2 4.669 3.990 42 13.4 20:14 ( 80, 21) C/2016 N6 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 13.0 mag (Feb. 4, Chris Wyatt). It will be fading after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 5 54.68 -22 7.6 2.963 3.449 111 13.4 20:24 (166, 77) Feb. 23 5 47.60 -21 53.2 3.098 3.493 105 13.6 20:14 (145, 74) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Now it is 15.0 mag (Feb. 6, Jean-Francois Soulier). Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 23 28.06 2 57.5 6.623 5.767 27 13.8 20:24 ( 87,-10) Feb. 23 23 33.16 3 31.0 6.671 5.767 22 13.8 20:14 ( 85,-13) C/2017 M4 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 13.3 mag (Feb. 9, Chris Wyatt). It stays 13-14 mag until summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 17 31.29 -18 24.0 3.579 3.263 63 13.9 4:03 (267, 37) Feb. 23 17 32.45 -19 44.8 3.467 3.270 70 13.8 4:11 (263, 45) 60P/Tsuchinshan 2 Now it is 13.9 mag (Feb. 9, Chris Wyatt). It will be fading after this, and it will be fainter than 18 mag in May. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 11 46.16 -6 24.6 0.838 1.749 146 14.1 2:05 (180, 62) Feb. 23 11 43.44 -6 24.8 0.832 1.775 153 14.3 1:35 (180, 62) C/2016 R2 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 15.2 mag (Feb. 1, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato).It will be fading slowly after this. It is observable in good condition in the Northern Hemisphere. 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. 16 16 2.83 43 43.3 3.630 3.883 97 14.4 4:03 (204, 5) Feb. 23 16 4.63 44 27.0 3.633 3.933 100 14.4 4:11 (198, 7) C/2018 A6 ( Gibbs ) Now it is bright as 14.8 mag (Dec. 12, Kunihiro Shima). It stays 14 mag for a long time in 2019. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is observable in excellent condition. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observasble until summer in 2020. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 10 20.37 -57 6.8 2.815 3.288 110 14.5 0:40 ( 0, 68) Feb. 23 10 0.03 -58 37.4 2.775 3.264 111 14.4 23:45 ( 0, 66) C/2015 O1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 14.5 mag (Jan. 31, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It will be fading slowly after this. It is observable in excellent condition until spring in the Northern Hemispehre. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be hardly observable after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 10 18.51 44 17.7 4.010 4.876 147 14.6 0:38 (180, 11) Feb. 23 10 4.65 44 22.0 4.066 4.913 145 14.7 23:51 (180, 11) (944) Hidalgo Now it is 14.3 mag (Nov. 30, Seiichi Yoshida). It will be fading gradually after this. It is observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable until summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 10 41.48 79 51.3 1.667 2.239 112 14.8 1:03 (180,-25) Feb. 23 10 9.26 78 8.7 1.710 2.273 111 14.9 0:03 (180,-23) C/2017 B3 ( LINEAR ) Now it is 14.5 mag (Aug. 16, P. Camilleri, H. Williams). It stays 15 mag from 2018 to 2019, and it will be observable for a long time in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will never be observable again. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 21 54.61 -57 54.3 4.554 3.923 45 14.9 4:03 (332, 15) Feb. 23 22 9.67 -56 40.2 4.538 3.925 46 14.9 4:11 (329, 16) C/2017 T2 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 14.5 mag (Jan. 27, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It is expected to brighten up to 7-8 mag in 2020. It will be unobservable temporarily in April. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 2 59.37 0 17.7 5.403 5.257 76 15.4 20:24 (118, 34) Feb. 23 3 0.54 1 6.3 5.451 5.196 69 15.3 20:14 (116, 30) C/2018 A3 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 14.6 mag (Jan. 21, Sandor Szabo). It stays 15 mag until March. It is observable in excellent condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not observable at all in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 4 16.23 69 7.5 2.918 3.293 103 15.5 20:24 (170,-16) Feb. 23 3 59.97 66 22.1 3.030 3.300 96 15.6 20:14 (166,-15) 21P/Giacobini-Zinner It brightened up to 6.8 mag in September (Sept. 17, Seiichi Yoshida). Now it is fading. It has already faded down to 15.3 mag (Jan. 30, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It is observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It locates low after this in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 6 7.48 -22 8.6 1.610 2.206 114 15.8 20:24 (179, 77) Feb. 23 6 10.83 -19 48.7 1.715 2.268 111 16.1 20:14 (167, 74) 240P/NEAT Although it was faint as 16-17 mag in November, it brightened up to 14.7 mag in December (Dec. 12, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It is bright as 15.1 mag still now (Jan. 31, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in excellent condition after this. It stays extremely low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 11 9.41 42 1.4 2.060 2.935 146 15.8 1:29 (180, 13) Feb. 23 11 2.88 42 42.5 2.092 2.966 146 15.9 0:55 (180, 12) P/2014 C1 ( TOTAS ) First return of a new periodic comet discovered in 2014. It has not been recovered yet. Now it is not detected, fainter than 20.0 mag (Dec. 10, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). The condition of this apparition is excelllent. It is expected to brighten rapidly, and to be observable at 15.5 mag in excellent condition in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 10 23.33 8 11.5 0.849 1.833 171 16.3 0:43 (180, 47) Feb. 23 10 19.27 8 53.2 0.821 1.810 178 16.1 0:11 (180, 46) C/2018 W2 ( Africano ) It is expected to brighten up to 10 mag in autumn. Now it is 16.7 mag (Feb. 1, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable for a long time while the comet is brightening. In the Southern Hemisphere, it it not observable until mid September. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 14 46.72 77 9.4 2.578 3.006 106 16.3 4:03 (184,-22) Feb. 23 15 3.92 81 5.1 2.550 2.935 102 16.2 4:11 (182,-26) 48P/Johnson Now it is 16.0 mag (Jan. 27, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It will be unobservable soon. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 1 14.81 -2 38.8 2.970 2.458 50 16.6 20:24 ( 98, 15) Feb. 23 1 26.23 -1 11.1 3.062 2.486 46 16.8 20:14 ( 98, 13) C/2010 U3 ( Boattini ) Now it is 16.8 mag (Jan. 31, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It stays 16-17 mag for a long time until 2020. It is observable in good condition in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not observable at all in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 11 41.88 74 9.5 7.957 8.446 116 16.6 2:01 (180,-19) Feb. 23 11 35.41 74 17.9 7.980 8.446 114 16.6 1:27 (180,-19) 239P/LINEAR Now it is 16.6 mag (Feb. 1, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It continues brightening even after the perihelion passage. It stays observable at 16-17 mag in good condition for some more time. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 8 5.41 -2 31.5 0.772 1.695 148 16.7 22:21 (180, 58) Feb. 23 8 7.14 -2 28.2 0.812 1.713 143 16.7 21:55 (180, 58) C/2017 T3 ( ATLAS ) It brightened up to 8.7 mag in July (July 18, Marco Goiato). Then it faded down to 12.3 mag in August (Aug. 29, Chris Wyatt). It stays observable in good condition after this while the comet will be fading. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 16 27.81 -15 3.6 3.319 3.280 79 16.8 4:03 (252, 48) Feb. 23 16 28.24 -13 59.3 3.277 3.361 86 16.8 4:11 (242, 54) C/2018 F4 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 17.4 mag (Jan. 3, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It stays 16 mag for a long time from 2019 to 2020. It is observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. It is hardly observable in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 14 15.04 -45 50.1 4.094 4.338 97 16.9 4:03 (334, 78) Feb. 23 14 11.51 -47 36.0 3.964 4.301 103 16.8 4:03 ( 0, 77) C/2016 A1 ( PanSTARRS ) It brightened up to 14.7 mag in early 2018 (Jan. 25, Catalina Sky Survey). Now it is fading slowly. Now it is 16.7 mag (Feb. 2, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition for a long time until the comet fades out. It is never observable again in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 4 27.46 70 49.9 5.949 6.270 104 17.0 20:24 (172,-17) Feb. 23 4 19.35 70 8.9 6.062 6.296 99 17.1 20:14 (169,-18) 74P/Smirnova-Chernykh Now it is 16.8 mag (Feb. 1, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It is observable at 17 mag in good condition in 2019. It locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 15 47.16 -15 59.3 3.663 3.771 88 17.2 4:03 (243, 57) Feb. 23 15 50.88 -16 10.4 3.566 3.779 94 17.2 4:11 (233, 62) C/2014 B1 ( Schwartz ) Now it is 17.2 mag (Feb. 2, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). Fading slowly. It stays observable at 17 mag in good condition until summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 11 40.74 7 39.5 9.092 9.988 153 17.2 2:00 (180, 47) Feb. 23 11 39.49 7 59.4 9.059 9.999 160 17.2 1:31 (180, 47) 59P/Kearns-Kwee Now it is 17.0 mag (Feb. 1, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It will be fading after this, and it will be fainter than 18 mag in May. It locates very low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 7 54.66 22 13.5 1.725 2.625 149 17.2 22:10 (180, 33) Feb. 23 7 52.27 21 50.2 1.796 2.648 142 17.3 21:40 (180, 33) C/2017 K2 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.9 mag (Feb. 2, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It is expected to be observable at 5-6 mag for a long time from 2022 to 2023. It will be observable in good condition for a long time in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable at the highlight from 2022 summer to 2023 summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 18 7.35 52 53.2 12.353 12.248 81 17.3 4:03 (215,-15) Feb. 23 18 9.43 53 15.4 12.285 12.203 82 17.3 4:11 (211,-11) 159P/LONEOS Now it is 17.0 mag (Feb. 1, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It will be fading after this, and it will be fainter than 18 mag in May. It locates very low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 5 44.50 43 30.6 3.349 3.914 118 17.3 20:24 (176, 11) Feb. 23 5 45.44 43 17.7 3.450 3.928 111 17.4 20:14 (173, 11) 171P/Spahr Now it is 16.8 mag (Jan. 29, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It will be fading after this, and it will be fainter than 18 mag in March. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 4 48.23 24 36.4 1.242 1.798 106 17.3 20:24 (160, 27) Feb. 23 4 58.99 26 33.3 1.316 1.810 102 17.5 20:14 (159, 25) 164P/Christensen Now it is 17.0 mag (Jan. 29, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It will be fading after this, and it will be fainter than 18 mag in March. It locates low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 11 1.45 30 22.8 1.879 2.813 156 17.3 1:21 (180, 25) Feb. 23 10 54.84 31 12.8 1.914 2.853 157 17.5 0:47 (180, 24) C/2019 B1 ( Africano ) Now it is 17.7 mag (Feb. 2, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable at 17.5 mag in good condition in February. It is not observable in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 6 41.00 64 26.8 0.939 1.654 118 17.5 20:52 (180, -9) Feb. 23 5 43.00 54 0.1 1.004 1.632 109 17.6 20:14 (173, 1) C/2018 X2 ( Fitzsimmons ) Now it is 17.6 mag (Jan. 30, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It stays 17 mag from spring to summer. But it is hardly observable. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable only until May. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays locating extremely low. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 3 56.81 46 20.4 2.339 2.681 99 17.6 20:24 (158, 4) Feb. 23 4 5.38 45 30.5 2.371 2.635 94 17.6 20:14 (156, 4) (6478) Gault Main-belt asteroid. But it shows a straight tail like a comet. Now it is 17.3 mag (Feb. 4, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It stays observable in excellent condition until early summer. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 10 33.10 -10 5.0 1.458 2.392 155 17.8 0:52 (180, 65) Feb. 23 10 27.15 -8 42.2 1.420 2.378 161 17.6 0:19 (180, 64) 247P/LINEAR Now it is 17.7 mag (Jan. 31, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It will be fading after this, and it will be fainter than 18 mag in late February. It locates very low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) Feb. 16 11 15.99 38 34.0 0.782 1.704 148 17.8 1:35 (180, 17) Feb. 23 11 9.52 38 15.5 0.813 1.741 149 18.0 1:01 (180, 17) 361P/2017 S4 ( Spacewatch ) Now it is 17.1 mag (Jan. 29, Toshihiko Ikemura, Hirohisa Sato). It will be fading after this, and 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. 16 6 49.18 4 30.7 2.408 3.167 133 17.9 21:05 (180, 50) Feb. 23 6 48.93 5 5.3 2.496 3.189 126 18.1 20:37 (180, 50)