| • (1) Where are you, Comet Haneda-Campos! It was a clear day on September 29. I tuned the 60cm reflector to the predicted position of D/1978 R1(Haneda-Campos) which has been shrouded in mystery. The comet was supposed to be glowing in the southwestern sky this evening. I took just one photo of the area. It was seen only in 1978. Since then it has refused to make its appearance at any of its predicted apparition on several occasions. As a result it is now considered to be a lost comet. It is perhaps faint and the position will be far off the prediction. However, there can be an outburst, as it occurred when Mr. Haneda discovered the comet (by a 9cm comet seeker). Because the 60cm telescope's field of coverage is only 1°x1.5°, I took two photos of the predicted area with ε210 astro-camera, which has a 5°x5° field. Will the comet brighten toward perihelion in February next year? It will be in the summer Milky Way for a while. I wish the comet would be found for the late Mr. Haneda. Is there anybody out there who can recover it? |
| • (2) The new nova in Sagittarius V5113 Sgr (Nova Sgr 2003 No. 2) This photo was taken at 20.00 on September 29 (Japan Standard Time). The arrowed object seems to be the nova. The magnitude was 9.8 estimated by comparison stars in GSC. |
V5113 Sgr
20.00 September 29
The center of the photograph magnified
Copyright (C) 2003 Tsutomu Seki.