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Reports from Geisei Observatory <January 10, 2003>


• C/2002 V1 brightening
Will this comet become a naked-eye comet in February? Or will it be evaporated by the Sun's heat? C/2002 V1 is brightening daily rushing toward perihelion. It is at magnitude 7 at present. Under light-polluted skies it will be much fainter, but at more favorable places like Geisei the comet is easily visible with binoculars.

C/2002 V1(NEAT)
12-minute exposure from 18:21 on January 6, 2003
60-cm f/3.5 reflector
Tsutomu Seki at Observatory
• A color photograph of C/2002 X5(Kudo-Fujikawa)
C/2002 X5 was captured in the evening sky. The accuracy of the measurements is not certain, as it was only 3 degrees above the horizon in twilight. On January 13 it will be shining at magnitude 3, 8 degrees north of Altair in Aquila.
 2003 UT      R.A(2000)     Decl.       m1
Jan. 6.37873  18 44 21.26  +21 01 44.7  6.0  20cmR 60X
     6.38312  18 44 22.99  +21 01 22.2       20cmR 60X

C/2002 X5 (Kudo-Fujikawa)
Five-minute exposure from 6:00 on December 31
ε160 f/3.3 reflector
ISO400 film(A faint tail is visible.)






Copyright (C) 2003 Tsutomu Seki.