Weekly Information about Bright Comets (2026 July 18: South)

Japanese version Home page	Updated on July 18, 2026
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.

10P/Tempel 2 Now it is 8.4 mag (July 14, Osamu Miyazaki). It will turn to fade out rapidly after the peak. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 21 30.79 -17 59.8 0.438 1.427 155 8.2 1:49 (180, 73) July 25 21 40.77 -21 0.4 0.422 1.420 160 8.1 1:32 (180, 76) 88P/Howell It brightened up to 9.6 mag in the very low sky in spring (Apr. 14, Chris Wyatt). Now it is 12.6 mag (July 9, Yoshimi Nagai). Fading gradually. It stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 2 34.27 11 36.8 1.836 1.857 75 11.9 5:35 (205, 40) July 25 2 44.14 12 24.7 1.808 1.902 79 12.1 5:32 (200, 40) 78P/Gehrels 2 Now it is 13.1 mag (June 29, Mike Olason). It stays 12 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be getting higher gradually. It locates somewhat low in the Southern Hemisphere. But it will become high in autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 4 45.84 20 31.1 2.643 2.013 42 12.2 5:35 (230, 16) July 25 5 2.52 20 42.0 2.602 2.020 45 12.2 5:32 (229, 17) C/2025 R3 ( PanSTARRS ) It brightened up to 4.0 mag in late April (Apr. 30, Chris Wyatt). It brightened up to 1.3 mag due to the forward scattering in the SOHO LASCO images (Apr. 25, Mikolaj Kaszczyk). Now it is 12.6 mag (June 23, Andrew Pearce). Fading gradually. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable now, but it will appear in September. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be getting higher gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 7 19.48 -13 36.4 2.556 1.826 35 12.7 5:35 (282, 7) July 25 7 23.71 -14 21.3 2.652 1.932 36 13.0 5:32 (279, 12) 220P/McNaught Major outburst of about 9 mag occured from May 31 to June 1, and it brightened up to 8.3 mag (June 3, Marco Goiato). Now it is 12.4 mag (July 9, Ken-ichi Kadota). Fading rapidly. It will be fainter than 18 mag in October. It stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 1 58.99 8 23.3 1.330 1.593 84 13.1 5:35 (195, 45) July 25 2 14.55 8 56.0 1.296 1.609 87 13.5 5:32 (192, 45) C/2024 T5 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 13.6 mag (June 28, Taras Prystavski). Brightening slowly. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable now, but it will be observable soon. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. It is expected to brighten up to 11 mag in winter. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 4 56.77 -13 28.7 5.113 4.597 54 13.3 5:35 (261, 36) July 25 5 3.09 -13 15.1 5.024 4.564 57 13.2 5:32 (257, 40) 260P/McNaught It will brighten up to 13 mag and will be observable in good condition from summer to autumn. Now it is 14.7 mag (July 13, Ken-ichi Kadota). Fading slowly. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be getting lower gradually. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 2 20.88 15 40.2 1.265 1.432 76 13.7 5:35 (199, 37) July 25 2 40.88 18 53.8 1.228 1.423 78 13.5 5:32 (197, 34) C/2024 J3 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 13.7 mag (June 28, Toru Yusa). It stays 14 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be unobservable in October. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 19 31.36 40 46.5 3.451 4.029 117 13.5 23:45 (180, 14) July 25 19 21.93 41 47.2 3.445 4.013 117 13.5 23:08 (180, 13) C/2023 R1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 13.5 mag (July 14, Osamu Miyazaki). Fading slowly. It will be getting lower gradually after this, and it will be unobservable in October in the Northern Hemisphere, or in November in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 16 16.65 -10 52.0 2.955 3.674 128 13.7 20:32 (180, 66) July 25 16 5.42 -11 34.2 3.083 3.690 119 13.8 19:53 (180, 67) 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 Now it is 15.0 mag (July 8, Andrew Pearce). It will be unobservable soon in the Northern Hemisphere, or in September in the Southern Hemisphere. But it will be observable again in October in the Northern Hemisphere, or in November in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 11 17.17 -2 13.9 6.825 6.317 56 14.2 18:37 (117, 36) July 25 11 20.84 -2 35.0 6.913 6.317 50 14.2 18:41 (111, 31) 169P/NEAT It will approach to Earth down to 0.17 a.u. in August. It is expected to brighten up to 10 mag from August to September. Now it is 14.6 mag (July 14, Erik Bryssinck). It brightens up to 10 mag, but it will turn to fade out rapidly after that. It will be getting lower gradually after this, and it will be unobservable in August. But it will be observable again in September in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 18 40.45 20 18.7 0.324 1.268 135 14.8 22:53 (180, 34) July 25 18 4.84 26 27.0 0.258 1.180 123 14.3 21:49 (180, 28) 63P/Wild 1 Now it is 14.8 mag (July 5, Martin Masek). Fading slowly. It will be unobservable soon in the Northern Hemisphere, or in September in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 10 24.01 11 33.7 2.669 1.978 38 14.5 18:37 (118, 18) July 25 10 38.51 9 17.6 2.714 1.984 35 14.5 18:41 (114, 16) C/2014 UN271 ( Bernardinelli-Bernstein ) Very large comet. It is expected to brighten up to 13 mag in 2031. Now it is 14.9 mag (May 19, Andrew Pearce). It stays 15 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable now. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is not observable until 2030. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 6 33.30 -68 16.7 13.747 13.792 90 14.6 5:35 (333, 36) July 25 6 40.19 -68 26.8 13.736 13.772 89 14.6 5:32 (333, 38) C/2024 R4 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 14.7 mag (July 5, D. Buczynski). It stays 15 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be unobservable in November. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 21 39.21 47 5.9 5.385 5.770 107 15.0 1:58 (180, 8) July 25 21 30.58 47 57.6 5.304 5.735 110 14.9 1:22 (180, 7) 123P/West-Hartley Now it is 16.9 mag (May 17, Kunihiro Shima). It stays 15 mag for a while. Now it is not observable. It will appear in September in the Northern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 8 27.37 29 48.1 3.200 2.219 12 15.3 18:37 (116,-15) July 25 8 44.37 28 51.9 3.195 2.207 11 15.3 18:41 (113,-17) C/2022 QE78 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 15.5 mag (June 14, Alfons Diepvens). It stays 16 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be unobservable in August. But it will be observable again in September. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable now. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 10 2.32 29 25.9 6.767 5.923 31 15.4 18:37 (128, 2) July 25 10 8.61 29 6.7 6.828 5.943 27 15.4 18:41 (124, -2) C/2021 G2 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 15.5 mag (July 13, Martin Masek). It stays 16 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be getting lower gradually after this, and it will be unobservable in November. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 17 1.13 15 58.1 6.454 7.083 124 15.6 21:16 (180, 39) July 25 16 59.70 15 49.6 6.555 7.118 120 15.6 20:48 (180, 39) C/2022 N2 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 15.8 mag (May 7, Ken-ichi Kadota). It stays 16 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be getting higher gradually. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable now, but it will appear in August. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 6 21.01 26 51.1 5.813 4.875 20 15.7 5:35 (240, -5) July 25 6 28.68 26 45.8 5.808 4.911 25 15.7 5:32 (238, -2) P/2026 M1 ( ZTF ) First return of a new periodic comet which brightened up to 17 mag in 2021. It will approach to Earth down to 0.17 a.u. from June to July. It was expected to brighten up to 14 mag. But actually, it is fainter than originally expected. Now it is 15.5 mag (July 8, Ken-ichi Kadota). It will fade out rapidly after this. It will be fainter than 18 mag in September. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. It locates somewhat low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 2 26.93 20 54.1 0.233 0.978 73 15.7 5:35 (199, 32) July 25 2 56.01 28 35.1 0.279 0.968 72 16.1 5:32 (198, 24) C/2025 Y1 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 16.2 mag (July 9, Ken-ichi Kadota). It stays 16 mag for a while. It will be unobservable in September in the Northern Hemisphere, or in October in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 12 47.42 3 35.3 5.327 5.151 74 16.3 18:37 (146, 46) July 25 12 50.49 3 13.3 5.376 5.098 68 16.2 18:41 (137, 42) 235P/LINEAR It became brighter than expected. It was observed at 13 mag from winter to spring. Now it is 14.8 mag (July 14, Purple Mountain Observatory, XuYi Station). It will fade out rapidly after this. It will be fainter than 18 mag in September. It stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 16 35.52 -8 43.7 1.723 2.520 132 16.2 20:51 (180, 64) July 25 16 36.38 -9 7.5 1.816 2.549 126 16.5 20:25 (180, 64) 161P/Hartley-IRAS It is expected to brighten up 10 mag from autumn to winter, and it will be observable in good condition. Now it is 17.8 mag (July 8, Gerald Rhemann, Michael Jager). It will brighten rapidly after this. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be getting higher gradually. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 3 19.70 -20 30.2 2.112 2.139 77 16.7 5:35 (250, 59) July 25 3 21.34 -20 2.1 1.947 2.073 82 16.3 5:32 (242, 63) C/2026 A2 ( Bok ) It will brighten up to 14 mag from autumn to winter. Now it is 16.2 mag (July 15, ATLAS-MLO, Mauna Loa). Brightening gradually. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is not observable now. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 16 31.72 79 8.1 2.754 2.699 76 16.5 20:43 (180,-24) July 25 16 17.14 78 53.4 2.698 2.644 76 16.4 20:02 (180,-24) C/2025 M2 ( PanSTARRS ) It is expected to brighten up to 12 mag from 2027 to 2028. Now it is 16.2 mag (July 14, ATLAS South Africa). It stays 16 mag for a while. It stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 20 7.13 -19 14.9 4.444 5.458 175 16.6 0:27 (180, 74) July 25 19 57.92 -19 36.9 4.392 5.406 175 16.5 23:45 (180, 75) C/2024 G6 ( ATLAS ) Now it is 16.8 mag (July 1, Alfons Diepvens). It stays 17 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be getting lower gradually after this, and it will be unobservable in October. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 15 12.91 15 29.8 6.198 6.507 103 16.7 19:28 (180, 40) July 25 15 10.37 15 35.1 6.312 6.515 97 16.8 18:58 (180, 40) 65P/Gunn Now it is 18.4 mag (July 10, W. Hasubick). It stays 17 mag for a while. It stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 0 51.31 -5 2.7 3.058 3.463 105 16.8 5:09 (180, 60) July 25 0 53.15 -5 5.6 2.980 3.479 111 16.8 4:44 (180, 60) C/2023 RS61 ( PanSTARRS ) It is around 20 mag usually. However, it brightened in outburst in 2025 autumn up to 17.0 mag (Sept. 4, Taras Prystavski). Now it is 17.3 mag (Mar. 6, ATLAS-HKO, Haleakala). It stays 17 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. It stays extremely low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 4 15.99 39 38.8 9.169 8.530 48 16.9 5:35 (213, 5) July 25 4 19.81 39 58.3 9.080 8.522 53 16.8 5:32 (210, 6) C/2024 G4 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 16.8 mag (July 10, Alfons Diepvens). It stays 17 mag for a while. It stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 20 13.49 2 28.4 4.043 4.986 155 17.0 0:33 (180, 52) July 25 20 11.06 1 51.7 4.038 4.996 158 17.0 0:03 (180, 53) C/2025 E1 ( PanSTARRS ) Now it is 17.2 mag (June 2, ATLAS Chile). It stays 17 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will never be observable after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 9 10.42 -63 36.5 3.977 4.040 86 17.1 18:37 ( 32, 36) July 25 9 19.50 -64 13.2 3.993 4.032 84 17.1 18:41 ( 31, 34) 114P/Wiseman-Skiff It has not been observed yet in this apparition. It stays 17 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be getting higher gradually. It stays extremely low in the Southern Hemisphere. But it will become high in autumn. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 4 45.93 31 19.9 2.296 1.681 41 17.3 5:35 (223, 7) July 25 5 9.11 31 15.8 2.242 1.657 43 17.1 5:32 (223, 8) C/2019 E3 ( ATLAS ) Very far object. It stays 17 mag for a while. It stays extremely low in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 0 40.96 -43 43.6 11.049 11.535 116 17.3 4:59 ( 0, 81) July 25 0 39.32 -43 59.8 10.999 11.552 120 17.3 4:30 ( 0, 81) C/2022 E2 ( ATLAS ) It was observed at 12-13 mag for a long time in 2024. Now it is 17.2 mag (July 10, Ken-ichi Kadota). It stays 18 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. It locates somewhat low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 22 54.70 32 13.8 6.291 6.714 110 17.4 3:13 (180, 23) July 25 22 49.78 32 4.8 6.245 6.758 116 17.4 2:41 (180, 23) C/2023 X2 ( Lemmon ) Now it is 17.8 mag (July 6, ATLAS-MLO, Mauna Loa). It stays 18 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will never be observable after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 13 36.69 73 13.5 5.593 5.314 69 17.4 18:37 (177,-18) July 25 13 43.30 71 26.0 5.613 5.329 68 17.5 18:41 (174,-17) 188P/LINEAR-Mueller Now it is 18.2 mag (Jan. 17, Kunihiro Shima). It stays 18 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will be getting higher gradually. It stays extremely low in the Southern Hemisphere. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 4 23.13 28 35.2 3.221 2.631 46 17.7 5:35 (221, 13) July 25 4 35.69 29 20.0 3.170 2.643 50 17.7 5:32 (218, 14) C/2026 AZ17 ( Bok ) Now it is 17.5 mag (July 9, Ken-ichi Kadota). It stays 18 mag for a while. It stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 16 19.37 24 17.3 2.280 2.822 111 17.8 20:35 (180, 31) July 25 16 20.14 22 39.5 2.293 2.787 108 17.8 20:08 (180, 33) C/2026 C1 ( Tsuchinshan ) It is expected to brighten up to 4 mag in 2028 autumn. Now it is 17.2 mag (July 9, Yasukazu Ikari). It stays 18 mag for a while. It will be unobservable in August in the Northern Hemisphere, or in September in the Southern Hemisphere. But it will be observable again in October in the Northern Hemisphere. At the high light, it is observable in excellent condition in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it becomes observable after the perihelion passage. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 12 5.93 6 25.9 9.210 8.810 63 17.8 18:37 (136, 38) July 25 12 6.76 6 7.4 9.259 8.757 57 17.8 18:41 (128, 34) 24P/Schaumasse It brightened up to 8.4 mag in January (Jan. 14, Mitsunori Tsumura). Now it is 17.1 mag (June 15, Masayoshi Yoshimi). It will fade out rapidly after this. It locates somewhat low in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 14 32.35 -10 54.9 2.042 2.494 104 17.8 18:49 (180, 66) July 25 14 38.09 -11 54.9 2.185 2.551 99 18.1 18:41 (171, 67) C/2023 H5 ( Lemmon ) Now it is 17.2 mag (July 8, ATLAS-MLO, Mauna Loa). It stays 18 mag for a while. In the Northern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. In the Southern Hemisphere, it will never be observable after this. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 21 39.64 67 29.5 5.236 5.316 89 17.8 1:58 (180,-13) July 25 21 30.21 67 11.7 5.217 5.348 91 17.8 1:21 (180,-12) P/2012 K3 ( Gibbs ) It was observed at 17 mag in 2012. It was expected to brighten up to 17 mag again in this apparition. But actually, it is much fainter. Now it is 19.7 mag (July 14, Martin Masek). Fading slowly. In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition. Date(TT) R.A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. m1 Best Time(A, h) July 18 20 16.20 -16 34.6 1.090 2.101 171 20.9 0:35 (180, 71) July 25 20 12.58 -17 58.6 1.087 2.102 178 20.9 0:04 (180, 73)