Comet Section        

 
 

March 1, 2024 – ALPO Comet News for March 2024

March will be all about comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere. While the comet will be at perihelion and a bit brighter and more active in April, March will be the last month to observe the comet in a dark sky at a reasonable elevation. The comet starts March at 6th magnitude and could be as bright as 4th magnitude by the end of the month. I suspect that observers under a dark sky will report naked-eye observations. The comet is also proving to be very photogenic with a multi-degree long gas tail already easily imaged.

Pons-Brooks isn’t the only comet to observe in March. The following will be visible from both hemispheres. In the evening sky, we have 144P/Kushida fading from 9th to 11th magnitude. 12P/Pons-Brooks isn’t the only Halley-family comet in the evening sky. 13P/Olbers will be visible brightening from 11th to 10th magnitude.

Near opposition, 62P/Tsuchinshan will be fading from 10th to 13th magnitude. The morning sky sees two reasonably bright long-period comets; C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) will be around 9th magnitude, and incoming C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will brighten from 12th to 11th magnitude.

Last month, the ALPO Comets Section received 147 images and 71 magnitude estimates of 30 comets: C/2024 B2 (Lemmon), C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), C/2022 E2 (ATLAS), C/2021 T4 (Lemmon), C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), C/2021 G2 (ATLAS), C/2020 V2 (ZTF), C/2020 S4 (PANSTARRS), C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 U5 (PANSTARRS), C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), 479P/Elenin, 475P/Spacewatch-LINEAR, 473P/NEAT, 244P/Scotti, 234P/LINEAR, 227P/Catalina-LINEAR, 216P/LINEAR, 207P/NEAT, 150P/LONEOS, 144P/Kushida, 121P/Shoemaker-Holt, 103P/Hartley, 65P/Gunn, 62P/Tsuchinshan, 37P/Forbes, 32P/Comas Sola, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, 13P/Olbers, and 12P/Pons-Brooks.

A big thanks to our recent contributors: Dan Bartlett, Michel Besson, Denis Buczynski, Dan Crowson, Michel Deconinck, Jose Guilherme de Souza Aguiar, Juan Jose Gonzalez Suarez, Eliot Herman, Michael Jäger, Christian Harder, Manos Kardasis, John Maikner, Gianluca Masi, Erwin Matys, Martin Mobberley, Karoline Mrazek, Mike Olason, Uwe Pilz, Greg Ruppel, Chris Schur, Gregory T. Shanos, Willian Souza, Tenho Tuomi, Russell Wheeler, and Christopher Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

 
 

February 1, 2024 – ALPO Comet News for February 2024

The comet of the month continues to be 12P/Pons-Brooks. Returning for the first time since 1954, Pons-Brooks has been delighting observers with a constant series of outbursts. While the object is currently only visible to northern observers, those who can see it will be able to watch it brighten from around magnitude 7.7 to 6.4 in the evening sky. Joining Pons-Brooks in the evening sky is another Halley-type comet, 13P/Olbers, making its first return since 1956. Olbers is also brightening but still faint at 11-12th magnitude this month. Closing out the evening comets is short-period 144P/Kushida, which was predicted to reach 8th magnitude but appears to have peaked at 10th magnitude.

In the morning sky are two comets, which should be at 9th magnitude, 62P/Tsuchinshan and C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS). Also, in the morning is C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), which could become a bright object later in the year and is now within visual range of large aperture telescopes at 12th magnitude.

Last month, the ALPO Comets Section received 146 images and 102 magnitude estimates of 30 comets: P/2023 S1, C/2023 H5 (Lemmon), C/2023 H2 (Lemmon), C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), C/2022 QE78 (ATLAS), C/2022 L2 (ATLAS), C/2022 E2 (ATLAS), C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), C/2021 G2 (ATLAS), C/2020 V2 (ZTF), C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 U5 (PANSTARRS), C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), 227P/Catalina-LINEAR, 226P/Pigott-LINEAR-Kowalski, 216P/LINEAR, 207P/NEAT, 194P/LINEAR, 176P/LINEAR, 170P/Christensen, 150P/LONEOS, 144P/Kushida, 126P/IRAS, 105P/Singer Brewster, 103P/Hartley, 62P/Tsuchinshan, 39P/Oterma, 32P/Comas Sola, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, 13P/Olbers, and 12P/Pons-Brooks.

A big thanks to our recent contributors: Denis Buczynski, Dan Crowson, Michel Deconinck, Jose Guilherme de Souza Aguiar, Juan Jose Gonzalez Suarez, Eliot Herman, Michael Jäger, Christian Harder, Manos Kardasis, John Maikner, Gianluca Masi, Erwin Matys, Martin Mobberley, Karoline Mrazek, Mike Olason, Uwe Pilz, Greg Ruppel, Chris Schur, Gregory T. Shanos, Willian Souza, and Christopher Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

 
 

December 31, 2023 – ALPO Comet News for January 2024

Happy New Year! The start of 2024 sees the action dominated by returning comets. The brightest comet of the month should be the Halley-family comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which is returning for the first time since 1954 and will brighten to 7th magnitude by the end of January. 12P has experienced a number of major outbursts, which recently seem to be occurring at a two-week cadence. Sharing the evening sky with 12P is short-period comet 144P/Kushida brightening to 8th magnitude. Also around 8th magnitude, but in the morning sky, is short-period comet 62P/Tsuchinshan. The only relatively bright long-period comet is C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), which may reach 9th magnitude and is in the morning sky before dawn.

Last month, the ALPO Comets Section received 131 images and 105 magnitude estimates of 33 comets: C/2023 X2 (Lemmon), C/2023 X1 (Leonard), C/2023 T3 (Fuls), C/2023 S3 (Lemmon), C/2023 P1 (Nishimura), C/2023 H2 (Lemmon), C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), C/2022 QE78 (ATLAS), C/2022 JK5 (PANSTARRS), C/2022 E2 (ATLAS), C/2021 X1 (Maury-Attard), C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), C/2021 G2 (ATLAS), C/2021 A9 (PANSTARRS), C/2020 V2 (ZTF), C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 U5 (PANSTARRS), C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), 471P, 470P/PANSTARRS, 378P/McNaught, 226P/Pigott-LINEAR-Kowalski, 207P/NEAT, 170P/Christensen, 144P/Kushida, 126P/IRAS, 103P/Hartley, 62P/Tsuchinshan, 32P/Comas Sola, 30P/Reinmuth, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, 13P/Olbers, and 12P/Pons-Brooks.

A big thanks to our recent contributors: Dan Bartlett, Todd Bossaller, Denis Buczynski, Dan Crowson, Michel Deconinck, J. J. Gonzalez Suarez, Christian Harder, Carl Hergenrother, Eliot Herman, Michael Jäger, Manos Kardasis, Martin Mobberley, Mike Olason, Uwe Pilz, Greg Ruppel, Chris Schur, Gregory T. Shanos, Willian Souza, Tenho Tuomi, and Chris Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

 
 

December 3, 2023 – ALPO Comet News for December 2023

2023 ends with several comets brighter than magnitude 10. The most newsworthy is inbound Halley-type comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. Though still months from its April perihelion, its major outbursts have brightened it to 8-9th magnitude. Northern observers can catch 12P in the evening sky. Southern observers will be able to watch another evening comet as C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) rapidly fades from 9th to 12th magnitude after its close approach to Earth last month.

In the morning sky, 62P/Tsuchinshan will peak at around 8th magnitude while 103P/Hartley will be fading from 9th to 11th magnitude. Two other comets, 144P/Kushida and C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), will be brightening this month, with both around magnitude 10 by New Year’s and still brightening into 2024.

On December 9 at 35.14 au, comet 1P/Halley arrives at aphelion. The comet will now start its long trek to its next perihelion in 2061!

Last month, the ALPO Comets Section received 187 observations of comets C/2023 P1 (Nishimura), C/2023 V5 (Leonard), P/2023 S1, C/2023 H2 (Lemmon), C/2022 U3 (Bok), C/2022 QE78 (ATLAS), C/2022 E2 (ATLAS), C/2020 V2 (ZTF), C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), 12P/Pons-Brooks, 13P/Olbers, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, 32P/Comas Sola, 62P/Tsuchinshan, 103P/Hartley, 143P/Kowal-Mrkos, 144P/Kushida, 170P/Christensen, 195P/Hill, 209P/LINEAR, 227P/Catalina-LINEAR, 246P/NEAT, 310P/Hill, 404P/Bressi, and 465P/Hill.

A big thanks to our recent contributors: Dan Bartlett, Denis Buczynski, Jose Guilherme de Souza Aguiar, Jef de Wit, Michel Deconinck, J. J. Gonzalez Suarez, Christian Harder, Carl Hergenrother, Eliot Herman, Michael Jäger, John Maikner, Martin Mobberley, Efrain Morales Rivera, Mike Olason, Uwe Pilz, Michael Rosolina, Greg Ruppel, Chris Schur, Willian Souza, Tenho Tuomi, and Chris Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

 
 

November 2, 2023 – ALPO Comet News for November 2023

November sees several comets within range of small apertures. C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) will pass 0.19 au from Earth this month, possibly brightening to around 6-7th magnitude as it flies across the evening sky from Ursa Major to Grus. In the morning sky, two short-period comets are on display: 62P/Tsuchinshan as it brightens from 10th to 8th magnitude and 103P/Hartley fading from 8th to 9th magnitude.

A little fainter is inbound Halley-type comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, now being hyped in the press as the “Devil Comet.” As was the case during its last two returns in 1884 and 1954, Pons-Brooks is experiencing a series of outbursts, with the most recent major outburst occurring on October 31/November 1. November will see this northern evening comet brightening from 11th to 10th magnitude.

Last month the ALPO Comets Section received 202 observations of comets C/2023 S2 (ATLAS), C/2023 H2 (Lemmon), C/2023 E1 (ATLAS), C/2022 JK5 (PANSTARRS), C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS), C/2021 X1 (Maury-Attard), C/2021 S4 (Tsuchinshan), C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), C/2020 V2 (ZTF), C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS), C/2018 A6 (Gibbs), C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), 471P/2010 YK3, 358P/PANSTARRS , 279P/La Sagra, 225P/LINEAR, 212P/NEAT, 207P/NEAT, 170P/Christensen, 144P/Kushida, 126P/IRAS, 103P/Hartley, 62P/Tsuchinshan, 32P/Comas Sola, 30P/Reinmuth, 30P/Reinmuth, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, 12P/Pons-Brooks, and 2P/Encke. A big thanks to our August contributors: Dan Bartlett, Michel Besson, Denis Buczynski, Dan Crowson, Jose Guilherme de Souza Aguiar, Michel Deconinck, J. J. Gonzalez Suarez, Christian Harder, Carl Hergenrother, Eliot Herman, Michael Jäger, Manos Kardasis, John Maikner, Gianluca Masi, Martin Mobberley, Philippe Morel, Mike Olason, Uwe Pilz, Greg Ruppel, Chris Schur, Tenho Tuomi, and Chris Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

 
 

October 5, 2023 – ALPO Comet News for October 2023

After the excitement of C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) last month, you might think October will be a little less eventful for comet watchers. While it is true that October won’t deliver a 2nd to 4th magnitude comet like Nishimura was its brightest, there are a large number of comets expected to be brighter than 10th magnitude.

Short-period comets 2P/Encke and 103P/Hartley will be nice 7th to 8th magnitude objects in the morning sky. C/2023 H2 (Lemmon) is a bit of a wild card but could rival Encke and Hartley this month. One of next year’s highlights is in the news again as 12P/Pons-Brooks has experienced yet another multi-magnitude outburst, though whether it will be brighter than 11th magnitude this month is still to be seen.

Last month the ALPO Comets Section received 244 observations of comets C/2023 P1 (Nishimura), C/2023 H2 (Lemmon), C/2023 E1 (ATLAS), C/2022 JK5 (PANSTARRS), C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS), C/2021 X1 (Maury-Attard), C/2021 T4 (Lemmon), C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), C/2020 V2 (ZTF), C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS), C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), 311P/PANSTARRS, 237P/LINEAR, 202P/Scotti, 126P/IRAS, 103P/Hartley, 30P/Reinmuth, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, 13P/Olbers, 12P/Pons-Brooks, 2P/Encke. A big thanks to our August contributors: Dan Bartlett, Michel Besson, Denis Buczynski, Dan Crowson, Jose Guilherme de Souza Aguiar, Michel Deconinck, J. J. Gonzalez Suarez, Christian Harder, Scott Harrington, Carl Hergenrother, Eliot Herman, Michael Jäger, John Maikner, Gianluca Masi, Martin Mobberley, Mike Olason, Uwe Pilz, Ludovic Prebet, Michael Rosolina, Greg Ruppel, Chris Schur, Tenho Tuomi, and Chris Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

 
 

September 2, 2023 – ALPO Comet News for September 2023

August was a busy month for comet watchers. In addition to observing 12P/Pons-Brooks in outburst and 9th magnitude C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) and C/2020 V2 (ZTF), a new bright amateur comet was discovered around mid-month. C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) is now 6th magnitude and should brighten to 4th-5th magnitude before being lost in the glare of the Sun. September will also see returning periodic comets 2P/Encke and 103P/Hartley brighten to 9th and 7th magnitude by the end of the month, respectively.

Also, observable in September are C/2020 V2 (ZTF) at 9th magnitude, 12P/Pons-Brooks and C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) at 11th mag, C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) brightening from 12th to 11th magnitude, C/2021 T4 (Lemmon) fading from 10th to 11th magnitude, and C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) fading from 10th to 12th magnitude.

Last month the ALPO Comets Section received 277 observations of comets C/2023 P1 (Nishimura), C/2023 E1 (ATLAS), C/2023 A3 (Tsuchishan-ATLAS), C/2022 W3 (Leonard), C/2022 JK5 (PANSTARRS), C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS), C/2021 X1 (Maury-Attard), C/2021 T4 (Lemmon), C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), C/2020 V2 (ZTF), C/2020 O2 (Amaral), C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 T4 (ATLAS), C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), P/2014 W1 (PANSTARRS), 364P/PANSTARRS, 347P/PANSTARRS, 326P/Hill, 310P/Hill, 276P/Vorobjov, 242P/Spahr, 237P/LINEAR, 126P/IRAS, 103P/Hartley, 80P/Peters-Hartley, 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, 32P/Comas Sola, 12P/Pons-Brooks, and 2P/Encke. A big thanks to our August contributors: Dan Bartlett, Michel Besson, Michel Deconinck, J. J. Gonzalez, Jose Guilherme de Souza Aguiar, Andrew Hampton, Christian Harder, Scott Harrington, Carl Hergenrother, Eliot Herman, Michael Jäger, John Maikner, Martin Mobberley, Charles Morris, Gary T. Nowak, Mike Olason, Uwe Pilz, Ludovic Prebet, Michael Rosolina, Greg Ruppel, Greg Shanos, Tenho Tuomi, and Chris Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

 
 

August 3, 2023 – ALPO Comet News for August 2023

This month we welcome two returning periodic comets breaking the 12th magnitude barrier. In April 2024, Halley-type comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will make its first perihelion passage since 1954. On July 20th, it experienced a 4- to 5-magnitude outburst and is now an 11th-magnitude object in the evening sky. Due to peak at 7th magnitude this October, 103P/Hartley is returning for the second time since its superb return in 2010. By the end of this month, 103P should brighten to magnitude 9.5 in the morning sky.

Also visible this month are 8th magnitude C/2021 T4 (Lemmon), 9th magnitude C/2020 V2 (ZTF) and C/2023 E1 (ATLAS), and 11th magnitude C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS).

Last month the ALPO Comets Section received 180 observations of comets C/2023 E1 (ATLAS), C/2023 A3 (Tsuchishan-ATLAS), C/2022 W3 (Leonard), C/2022 E3 (ATLAS), C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS), C/2021 T4 (Lemmon), C/2020 V2 (ZTF), C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 U5 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 T4 (ATLAS), C/2019 L3 (ATLAS), 237P/LINEAR, 126P/IRAS, 103P/Hartley, 80P/Peters-Hartley, 32P/Comas Sola, 12P/Pons-Brooks, and 2P/Encke. A big thanks to our July contributors: Dan Bartlett, J. J. Gonzalez, Jose Guilherme de Souza Aguiar, Christian Harder, Carl Hergenrother, Eliot Herman, John Maikner, Martin Mobberley, Charles Morris, Gary T. Nowak, Uwe Pilz, Michael Rosolina, Greg Shanos, Tenho Tuomi, and Chris Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

 
 

July 3, 2023 – ALPO Comet News for July 2023

July will be a nice month for comet watchers. While there are no “bright” comets, three comets should make nice targets for binoculars or small telescopes. The brightest comet of the month, 7th magnitude C/2021 T4 (Lemmon), will be well placed for southern hemisphere observers as it races from the morning into the evening sky. Northern observers will be able to observe it early in the month though a bright Moon and a decreasing elevation will make it a bit challenging. Northern observers will have 9th magnitude C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) all to themselves as it moves through the northern circumpolar sky. Both hemispheres can observe 9-10th magnitude C/2020 V2 (ZTF) in the morning sky. Imagers are asked to watch one of next year’s potential bright objects, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), at 16th magnitude in the evening sky.

Last month the ALPO Comets Section received 99 magnitude estimates, images, and sketches of comets C/2023 E1 (ATLAS), C/2023 A3 (Tsuchishan-ATLAS), C/2022 E3 (ATLAS), C/2022 A2 (PANSTARRS), C/2021 T4 (Lemmon), C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS), C/2020 V2 (ZTF), C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 U5 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 T4 (ATLAS), C/2019 L3 (ATLAS), C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), 364P/PANSTARRS, 276P/Vorobjov, 237P/LINEAR, 126P/IRAS, 77P/Longmore, 71P/Clark, and 12P/Pons-Brooks. A big thanks to our June contributors: J. J. Gonzalez, Jose Guilherme de Souza Aguiar, Christian Harder, Carl Hergenrother, Eliot Herman, John Maikner, Michael Rosolina, and Chris Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

 
 

June 4, 2023 – ALPO Comet News for June 2023

May was a quiet month for comet watchers as the sky was lacking in bright or even semi-bright comets. June should bring some improvement. C/2020 V2 (ZTF), which has been around magnitude 9.0 to 9.5 for most of the year, is again visible after passing solar conjunction. C/2021 T4 (Lemmon) and C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) are expected to start the month at 10th magnitude and reach magnitude 9 by the end of the month. C/2021 T4 (Lemmon) is primarily an object for southern hemisphere observers, while C/2023 E1 (ATLAS) is a northern-only object.

Last month the ALPO Comets Section received 60 magnitude estimates and images/sketches of comets C/2023 E1 (ATLAS), C/2023 A3 (Tsuchishan-ATLAS), C/2021 T4 (Lemmon), C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 U5 (PANSTARRS), C/2019 T4 (ATLAS), C/2019 L3 (ATLAS), C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), 364P/PANSTARRS, 263P/Gibbs, 237P/LINEAR, 199P/Shoemaker, 133P/Elst-Pizarro, 130P/McNaught-Hughes, 99P/Kowal, 96P/Machholz, 81P/Wild, 219P/LINEAR, 103P/Hartley, 80P/Peters-Hartley, 77P/Longmore, 71P/Clark, and 12P/Pons-Brooks. A big thanks to our May contributors: J. J. Gonzalez, Jose Guilherme de Souza Aguiar, Carl Hergenrother, John Maikner, and Chris Wyatt.

The monthly ALPO Comet News PDF can be found here. A shorter version of this report is posted on a dedicated Cloudy Nights forum. All are encouraged to join the discussion over at Cloudy Nights.

Older Posts »

   Powered by WordPress     Personalized by: Larry Owens     Contact the Webmaster