Reports from Geisei Observatory <May 5, 2006>

73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 and P/2005 XA54 (LONEOS-Hill)

    The following are the observations of Nuclei B and C of 73P/Schwassmann-Wachman 3. A photograph is also provided.
    In this color photograph the coma is large and the tail looks the longest so far. In a short-exposure photograph Nucleus C is larger than when it broke up. The magnitude given is the magnitude of the nucleus, while the total magnitude is 8. Nucleus AQ, which had split from Nucleus B, seems to have faded and become smaller.

73P-B/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3
2006UT       RA (2000.0)   Decl.           m2
May.2.62135  16 20 35.77  +36 22 41.7     10.6    372

    This is the last observation at Geisei of P/2005 XA54, which has become fainter. I am not quite sure if this comet can be captured on film at the next observation on a dark night.

P/2005 XA54 (LONEOS-Hill)
2006UT       RA (2000.0)   Decl.           m1
May 2.58368  11 08 29.40  +25 27 03.5     18.0    372