Reports from Geisei Observatory <January 17, 2001>

• C/2000 WM1(LINEAR)
A number of observations have been made during the current cold spell. The observational data provided here will be sent to IAU shortly. Here is an image of C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR) by the 60cm telescope. This comet is predicted to brighten to magnitude 3-4 in the southern sky at the end of the year. It is still far from the earth at magnitude 17, but we are looking forward to its approach to the earth. I wonder how it will turn out. The Geisei Observatory uses the GSC-ACT Catalog from this observation and onward. The catalog was obtained by courtesy of Mr. Hirohisa Sato. Enjoy the image of the newly-born "great" comet LINEAR (the object shown with an arrow in the photo).

C/2000 WM1(LINEAR)
21.00 on January 16, 2001
15-minute exposure by the 60cm reflector.
Tsutomu Seki at Gaisei Observatory