A new Comet has been found in the northern Hemisphere , details are sketchy, but it looks good
Robert Matson has found a bright comet on SWAN spacecraft
images in the northern sky. Though announced on IAU Circular 9034,
there is no orbit or ephemeris yet. A rough extrapolation can be
made from the following positions:
UT date RA (J2000) Dec
April 6.15 23 54 00 +54 41.5
April 6.85 23 59 25 +54 55.4
The first observation shown is by the experienced visual observer
J. J. Gonzalez (Burgos, Spain), who estimated the comet as mag 8.5
with the coma 6' diameter using a 15cm reflector. CCD observers
are reporting nuclear magnitudes of 12 to 13. Inevitably there
was bright Moonlight involved and the comet low in the sky, so the
coma could well be rather larger. Presumably this is best viewed in
the pre-dawn hours, though it may be visible all night from
northern latitudes.
Information from Brian Skiff from Amastro Web site
