46P/Wirtanen, 8P/Tuttle, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, and 17P/Holmes
We are experiencing a very strong cold snap. The following
are the results of the observation made on January 24 at Geisei Observatory:
46P/Wirtanen
2008UT m1 dia. DC Trans Seeing Inst. Obs.
Jan.24.39 8.5 4 5 5/5 3/5 20cmR 60x T.Seki
8P/Tuttle
Jan.24.40 7.3 6 6 5/5 3/5 20CMR 60x
29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
Jan.24.42 12.0 2 7 8/8 4/5 20cmR 60x
17P/Holmes
Jan.24.43 4.5 ? 2 5/5 4/5 8x35B
The wintry monsoonal wind made seeing poor, but sky transparency
was excellent.
I saw 46P/Wirtanen glowing in the twilight for the first time. 8P/Tuttle was -35 degrees south, very low in the southern sky, but the coma was very firm. 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 was faint in the 20cm telescope. In photographs, small faint glow envelopes the sharp nucleus. At one time it appeared as a bright large disk, but its activity seems to have settled down. @
I observed 17P/Holmes last. It was very close to bright Beta
Persei and its presence was obvious to the naked eye. The coma, diffused
and faint, was definitely larger than 1 degree in diameter. However, I
was not able to measure it because of distraction by the bright light of
the neighboring 2nd magnitude star. The 60cm telescope could capture just
the 16th-magnitude nucleus and its immediate vicinity. The coma spreads
throughout the one-degree-wide field of the camera and is vague.