Reports from Geisei Observatory <February 19, 2002>

• C/2000 WM1(LINEAR) caught during its northward progress
C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR) has returned to the northern sky after it brightened and moved into the southern sky. At Geisei it was observed visually on the morning of February 18 and photographically on the morning of February 19. The coma was approximately 8' across and spherical with a slight tail. In a 20cm telescope at 60x, the magnitude was estimated to be roughly 6. However, in photographs it was much brighter. The magnitude of the nucleus was 7.8 estimated from background comparison stars. The tail was broader and 20' long in the southwest. A high level of accuracy of the position measurements could not be expected due to atmospheric instability. More accurate positions will be reported later.

C/2000 WM1(LINEAR)
05:30 February 19, 2002 with a 3-minute exposure
60 cm reflector at Geisei Observatory
By Tsutomu Seki