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Last updated: 22 March 2002
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Last updated: 22 March 2002 |
Subject: Comet Utsunomiya C/2002 F-1 Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 9:24:30 From: sherrodc@ipa.net (Clay Sherrod) Yet another new comet has been found (Comet Utsunomiya C/2002 F-1), this one in the twilight skies of early morning in the constellation of Pegasus....details are scanty, but can be found at the ASO website: http://www.arksky.org/cgi-bin/readnews.pl Dr. Clay
Subject: AstroAlert: A Third New Comet!
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 14:00:24
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This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Comets
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A THIRD NEW COMET!
Using giant 25 x 150 binoculars, Syogo Utsunomiya has
discovered a 10th-magnitude comet in the constellation
Pegasus. The comet is low in the predawn sky, about 33
degrees from the Sun. According to IAU Circular 7854,
issued March 20th, Utsunomiya made the find on March
18th and confirmed it on the 19th from his observing site
near Kumamoto, southern Japan. He described it as a
diffuse glow less than 2 arcminutes across.
At the request of the Central Bureau for Astronomical
Telegrams, S. Sanchez and J. Rodriguez on the Spanish
island of Mallorca and Bert Stevens in Las Cruces, New
Mexico, obtained the first set of astrometric measurements
on March 20th.
The future motion of this comet is still undetermined,
but a representative parabolic orbit yields the following
crude ephemeris that may help observers locate the object
during the next few days. Each position is for 0 hours
Universal Time on the dates indicated.
Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Editor
Sky & Telescope
Comet C/2002 F1
Date R.A. (2000) Dec. Elong. Const.
(0h UT) h m o ' o
Mar 21 21 53.0 +07 13 32.6 Peg
Mar 22 21 57.3 +08 07 32.6 Peg
Mar 23 22 01.9 +09 04 32.4 Peg
Mar 24 22 07.0 +10 04 32.2 Peg
Mar 25 22 12.7 +11 07 31.8 Peg
Mar 26 22 18.8 +12 13 31.4 Peg
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AstroAlert is a free service of SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential
Magazine of Astronomy (http://SkyandTelescope.com/).
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And:
Subject: AstroAlert: Update on Utsunomiya
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 12:45:09
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This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Comets
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UPDATE ON COMET UTSUNOMIYA
New Comet Utsunomiya, whose discovery was announced March
20th, should brighten to about 6th magnitude in the coming
weeks. But it lingers near the Sun throughout this period,
so observations will be difficult. That's the indication of
Brian G. Marsden's orbit calculations published in Minor
Planet Electronic Circular 2002-F39. (Visit the Minor Planet
Center Web site at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html
for information on subscribing to those circulars.)
Comet Utsunomiya reaches perihelion in the third week of
April, when it will be between the orbits of Mercury and
Venus. By then it will have crossed from the morning
to the evening sky for observers in the Northern Hemisphere.
The comet will be easier to observe from the Southern
Hemisphere after mid-May, but soon thereafter it will fade
rapidly as it departs the inner solar system.
The following ephemeris, based on Marsden's preliminary
orbit, gives the comet's right ascension and declination
(equinox 2000.0) at 0 hours Universal Time on each date.
Also given are its distances from the Earth (Delta) and
Sun (r), elongation, predicted magnitude, and the
constellation through which it is passing.
Watch the observing section of SkyandTelescope.com for
further updates on this object. (For example, the
ephemeris may change slightly as the orbit is improved
in the coming days.)
Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Editor
Sky & Telescope
Comet Utsunomiya, C/2002 F1
Date R.A. (2000) Dec. Delta r Elong. Mag. Const.
(0h UT) h m o ' (au) (au) o
Mar 22 21 57.0 +08 05 1.548 0.889 32.6 8.9 Peg
Mar 23 22 01.2 +08 59 1.526 0.871 32.6 8.8 Peg
Mar 24 22 05.6 +09 54 1.505 0.853 32.5 8.7 Peg
Mar 25 22 10.1 +10 50 1.484 0.835 32.4 8.6 Peg
Mar 26 22 14.8 +11 48 1.464 0.817 32.2 8.5 Peg
Mar 27 22 19.7 +12 47 1.444 0.799 32.1 8.3 Peg
Mar 28 22 24.8 +13 47 1.424 0.782 31.9 8.2 Peg
Mar 29 22 30.1 +14 48 1.405 0.764 31.7 8.1 Peg
Mar 30 22 35.6 +15 50 1.387 0.746 31.4 7.9 Peg
Mar 31 22 41.4 +16 53 1.369 0.729 31.1 7.8 Peg
Apr 01 22 47.4 +17 56 1.352 0.712 30.8 7.7 Peg
Apr 02 22 53.7 +19 01 1.336 0.695 30.5 7.5 Peg
Apr 03 23 00.3 +20 05 1.320 0.678 30.1 7.4 Peg
Apr 04 23 07.2 +21 10 1.305 0.661 29.7 7.3 Peg
Apr 05 23 14.4 +22 15 1.291 0.645 29.3 7.1 Peg
Apr 06 23 21.9 +23 19 1.278 0.628 28.9 7.0 Peg
Apr 07 23 29.8 +24 23 1.266 0.613 28.4 6.9 Peg
Apr 08 23 38.1 +25 25 1.255 0.597 27.9 6.8 Peg
Apr 09 23 46.7 +26 26 1.244 0.582 27.4 6.6 Peg
Apr 10 23 55.7 +27 25 1.235 0.568 26.9 6.5 Peg
Apr 11 00 05.1 +28 21 1.227 0.554 26.4 6.4 Peg
Apr 12 00 14.8 +29 14 1.220 0.541 25.9 6.3 And
Apr 13 00 25.0 +30 03 1.214 0.528 25.3 6.2 And
Apr 14 00 35.4 +30 48 1.210 0.517 24.8 6.0 And
Apr 15 00 46.2 +31 29 1.206 0.506 24.3 5.9 And
Apr 16 00 57.3 +32 04 1.204 0.496 23.8 5.9 Psc
Apr 17 01 08.6 +32 33 1.203 0.487 23.3 5.8 Psc
Apr 18 01 20.1 +32 55 1.203 0.479 22.9 5.7 Psc
Apr 19 01 31.7 +33 11 1.204 0.472 22.4 5.6 Tri
Apr 20 01 43.4 +33 21 1.207 0.467 22.0 5.6 Tri
Apr 21 01 55.1 +33 23 1.210 0.463 21.7 5.6 Tri
Apr 22 02 06.6 +33 18 1.215 0.460 21.3 5.6 Tri
Apr 23 02 18.0 +33 07 1.221 0.459 21.1 5.5 Tri
Apr 24 02 29.2 +32 50 1.228 0.459 20.8 5.6 Tri
Apr 25 02 40.2 +32 26 1.235 0.460 20.6 5.6 Tri
Apr 26 02 50.8 +31 56 1.244 0.463 20.5 5.6 Per
Apr 27 03 01.0 +31 22 1.253 0.467 20.4 5.7 Per
Apr 28 03 10.8 +30 43 1.263 0.473 20.3 5.8 Ari
Apr 29 03 20.3 +30 00 1.273 0.479 20.3 5.8 Ari
Apr 30 03 29.3 +29 14 1.285 0.487 20.3 5.9 Ari
May 01 03 37.9 +28 25 1.296 0.496 20.3 6.0 Tau
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AstroAlert is a free service of SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential
Magazine of Astronomy (http://SkyandTelescope.com/).
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