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Comets



Our Comets section is headed by Ana Russo

COMETS OBSERVED IN 2023
C/2022 E3 ZTF (Zwicky Transient Facility)

COMETS OBSERVED IN 2021
C/2021 A1 Leonard

COMETS OBSERVED IN 2020
C/2020 F3 NEOWISE
C/2020 M3 ATLAS


COMETS OBSERVED IN 2019
C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto

COMETS OBSERVED IN 2018
46P/Wirtanen

COMETS OBSERVED IN 2017                                                                              

41P/Tuttle-Giacobini- Kresak 
45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova

COMETS OBSERVED IN 2016
 
45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova
C/2013 X1 PANSTARRS
C/2013 US10 Catalina
252P/LINEAR     


                                 
 
COMETS OBSERVED IN 2015
C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy 
C/2013 US 10 Catalina


  Discovery Date


 First Observed
Last Observed
Perihelion Date
 C/2013 US10 Catalina 31 Oct 201315 Dec 2015 6 Jan 201615 Nov 2015 

 C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy 17 Aug 2014
 25 Dec 20147 May 2015 

 30 Jan 2015



COMETS OBSERVED IN 2014

C/2012 K1 PANSTARRS 
C/2014 E2 Jacques 
C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy **



 Discovery Date
 First Observed Last Observed
Perihelion Date

C/2012 K1 PanSTARRS  17 May 2012 7 Jun 20147 Jun 2014 27 Aug 2014
 C/2014 E2 Jacques      13 Mar 2014 29 Jul 20146 Sept 2014 2 Jul 2014 

 C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy 17 Aug 2014 25 Dec 20147 May 201530 Jan 2015 

                                                                                                                                                     
** C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy was observed from 25.12.2014 to 7.05.2015                                                                                       
                                                                                                           

C/2014 E2 Jacques
Courtesy Kevin Parker, Mackay, Queensland, Australia
Imaged on 29 July 2014 at 1900UT 59x30 seconds. Skywatcher ED100 at F7.2 Pentax K-5


  
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COMETS OBSERVED IN 2013   
 
C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS
C/2012 S1 ISON
C/2013 R1 LOVEJOY

  Discovery Date First Observed
 Last Observed

Perihelion Date
 C/2013 R1 Lovejoy 7 Sept 2013 15 Nov 20131 Dec 2013  22 Dec 2013

 C/2012 S1 ISON 21 Sept 2012 15 Nov 2013 15 Nov 2013 28 Nov 2013

C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS 6 Jun 2011 10 Mar 2013 25 Mar 201310 Mar 2013 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
Comet Lovejoy C/2013 R1
photographed by Victor C Rogus on 30 November 2013 from Jadwin, Missouri, USA
 

 
Comet Lovejoy C/2013 R1
Courtesy Victor C Rogus 12 December 2013 at 05:36:51 AM CST from Jadwin, Missouri, USA
 
 
Perihelion date: 22 December 2013

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Comet ISON C/2012 S1

Imaged by Damian Peach on 15 November 2013.  He used a 4-inch f/5 refractor for 12 minutes of combined exposures. The field is 2.5° wide. 

Permission given by Damian Peach to use this image.
 
 
 Comet ISON was discovered on 21 September 2012 by Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok, of the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON). It originated from the Oort Cloud at the edge of the Solar System where comets reside beyond the orbits of Neptune and the Kuiper Belt. 

This comet was observed at 06:30am on 15 November 2013, the same day it was imaged by Damian Peach above.  It was located 23 degrees above the East South-Eastern horizon, above and to the right of the star Spica in Virgo.  Viewing location: Kusuma Promenade by the Lighthouse. 
 
Perihelion date: 28 November 2013
 

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Comet C/2011 L4 Pan-STARRS
Courtesy Victor Rogus, Jadwin, Missouri, USA
 
 
 

 

Comet PanStarrs was discovered in June 2011 by the automated Pan-STARRS sky survey in Hawaii. Its orbit brought it by the Sun for the first time from the outer reaches of the Solar System.  After it spent billions of years in the cold of deep space, it will fly out again never to return.
 
This comet was followed from 10 March to 25 March 2013. 

Perihelion date:  10 March 2013


Note from the images above how the tail changed positon from left to right as the comet rounded the sun in its orbit


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COMETS OBSERVED


 NO YEAR DESIGNATION NAME
 1 1973/74 C/1973 E1Kahoutek
 2 1986 1P/ HalleyHalley                                        
 3 1992 109PSwift-Tuttle
 - 1994 D/1993 F2Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke apart into 21 pieces and collided with Jupiter - impact of Fragment G observed                                                    
 4 1996 C/1996 B2 Hyakutake
 5 1997 C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp
 6 2000 C/1999 S4 LINEAR
 7 2002 153P Ikeya-Zhang
 8 2002 C/2002 F1 Utsonomiya
 9 2003 C/2002 V1 NEAT
 10 2004 C/2001 Q4 NEAT
 11 2004 C/2002 T7 LINEAR
 12 2004 C/2004 Q2 Machholz
 13 2006 C/2006 M4 Swan
 14 2007 C/2006 P1 McNaught
 15 2007 C/2007 E2 Lovejoy
 16 2007 C/2007 F1 LEONOS
 17 2007 17P Holmes
 18 2007 8P Tuttle
 19 2009 C/2007 N3 Lulin
 20 2010 103P Hartley 2
 21 2011 C/2009 P1 Garrard
 22 2013 C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS
 23 2013 C/2013 R1 Lovejoy
 24 2013 C/2012 S1 ISON
 25 2014 C/2012 K1 PANSTARRS
 26 2014 C/2014 E2 Jacques
 27 2014 C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy
 28 2015 C/2013 US10 Catalina
 29 2016 C/2013 X1 PANSTARRS
 30 2016 252P LINEAR
 31 2016 45P Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova
 32 2017 41P Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak
 33 2018 46P Wirtanen 
 34
 2019 C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto
 35 2020 C/2020 F3 NEOWISE
 36 2020 C/2020 M3
 ATLAS
 37
 2021 C/2021 A1 Leonard
 38 2023 C/2022 E3 Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF)




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