Comet Chasing in July

Comet chasing is the visual observation of telescopic comets.

News

Comet Synopses for July

Explanation of Comet Synopses and charts (read this if you have questions)  

Charts look poor or grainy? Read this.

C/2007 W1 (Boattini): A morning comet visible in binoculars
This comet begins the month in Eridanus at magnitude 5.5. Look for a 9.8' coma. It should fade rapidly, moving into Aries by month's end.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Low in the eastern sky during morning twilight at ~01:30 19-
40o N Not visible Very low in the eastern sky during morning twilight at ~03:00 Low in the eastern sky during morning twilight at ~02:40 Fairly high during morning twilight at ~03:20 Fairly high during morning twilight at ~03:10 3-
Equator Fairly high in the eastern sky in moonlight at ~04:40 Fairly high at ~04:40 High at ~04:40 High during morning twilight at ~05:00 High in moonlight at ~04:50 1-
30o S Fairly high in the eastern sky in moonlight at ~05:30 Fairly high at ~05:20 Fairly high at ~05:20 High during morning twilight at ~05:40 High in moonlight at ~05:20 1-

C/2008 A1 (McNaught): A southern hemisphere morning comet visible in binoculars
This comet begins the month in Puppis at magnitude 9.3. Look for a 4.3' coma. It should brighten by about 1.4 magnitudes, moving into Vela by month's end. The best visibility is early in the month as seen from the southern hemisphere.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
40o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
Equator Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
30o S Low in the western sky at ~18:40 Low in the western sky during evening twilight at ~18:40 Low in the eastern sky during morning twilight at ~05:30 Low in the western sky during evening twilight at ~18:40 Low in the western sky at ~18:50 1-

C/2007 N3 (Lulin): An evening comet visible in binoculars
This comet begins the month in Capricornus at magnitude 10.5. Look for a 4.5' coma. It should brighten by about 1.0 magnitudes, moving into Sagittarius by month's end. The best visibility is late in the month as seen from the southern hemisphere.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N Not visible Not visible Low in the southern sky during morning twilight at ~00:10 Not visible Low in the southern sky during evening twilight at ~23:40 1-15, 22-
40o N Fairly high in the southern sky at ~00:50 Fairly high at ~01:50 Fairly high at ~01:00 Not visible Fairly high at ~23:20 1-16, 19-
Equator High at ~02:00 High at ~01:50 High at ~01:50 Low in the eastern sky during evening twilight at ~19:20 High at ~23:20 1-17, 19-
30o S High at ~02:30 High at ~01:50 High at ~02:50 Low in the eastern sky during evening twilight at ~18:40 High at ~23:20 1-

C/2008 J1 (Boattini): A northern hemisphere morning comet visible in small telescopes
This comet begins the month in Cepheus at magnitude 10.3. Look for a 4.5' coma. It should fade slowly.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N High during morning twilight at ~00:10 High during morning twilight at ~00:10 High during morning twilight at ~00:10 High during morning twilight at ~00:30 High during morning twilight at ~00:20 1-
40o N High at ~00:50 High at ~02:00 High at ~02:00 High in moonlight at ~02:00 High at ~23:20 1-
Equator Fairly high in the northern sky at ~02:00 Fairly high in the northern sky at ~03:00 Low in the northern sky at ~02:40 Not visible Low in the northern sky at ~00:50 1-15, 23-
30o S Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  

C/2007 G1 (LINEAR): An evening comet visible in a 6-inch telescope
This comet begins the month in Scorpius at magnitude 11.3. Look for a 2.0' coma. It should remain constant, moving into Lupus by month's end. The best visibility is late in the month as seen from the southern hemisphere.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
40o N Fairly high in the southern sky at ~22:10 Fairly high in the southern sky at ~21:50 Not visible Not visible Low in the southern sky during evening twilight at ~21:10 1-12, 20-
Equator High at ~22:00 High at ~21:20 Low in the western sky at ~01:50 High during evening twilight at ~19:20 High at ~19:40 1-12, 14-
30o S High at ~22:00 High at ~21:20 Low in the western sky at ~02:50 High during evening twilight at ~18:40 High at ~19:20 1-

C/2006 Q1 (McNaught): A southern hemisphere evening comet visible in a 6-inch telescope
This comet begins the month in Crater at magnitude 11.5. Look for a 2.6' coma. It should fade slowly, moving into Virgo by month's end. The best visibility is early in the month as seen from the southern hemisphere.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
40o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
Equator High at ~19:30 High in moonlight at ~19:30 High during evening twilight at ~19:10 Fairly high during evening twilight at ~19:20 Fairly high in the western sky at ~19:30 1-16, 19-
30o S High at ~18:40 High in moonlight at ~18:50 High during evening twilight at ~18:30 High during evening twilight at ~18:40 Fairly high at ~18:50 1-

C/2006 OF2 (Broughton): A morning comet visible in a 6-inch telescope
This comet begins the month in Andromeda at magnitude 11.9. Look for a 1.5' coma. It should brighten slowly, moving into Perseus by month's end.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N Not visible Fairly high in the eastern sky during morning twilight at ~00:20 Fairly high in the eastern sky during morning twilight at ~00:20 Fairly high during morning twilight at ~01:10 Fairly high during morning twilight at ~00:40 1-
40o N Fairly high in moonlight at ~02:30 Fairly high at ~02:30 Fairly high at ~02:30 High during morning twilight at ~03:20 High during morning twilight at ~03:00 1-
Equator Fairly high in moonlight at ~04:40 Fairly high at ~04:40 Fairly high at ~04:40 Fairly high during morning twilight at ~05:00 Fairly high in moonlight at ~04:50 1-
30o S Low in the northern sky in moonlight at ~05:30 Low in the northern sky at ~05:30 Low in the northern sky at ~05:30 Low in the northern sky during morning twilight at ~05:40 Low in the northern sky during morning twilight at ~05:30 1-

C/2008 C1 (Chen-Gao): A southern hemisphere evening comet visible in an 8-inch telescope
This comet begins the month in Puppis at magnitude 12.3. Look for a 3.1' coma. It should fade by about 1.0 magnitudes, moving into Antila by month's end. The best visibility is early in the month as seen from the southern hemisphere.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
40o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
Equator Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
30o S Fairly high in the western sky at ~18:40 Fairly high in the western sky in moonlight at ~18:40 Not visible Fairly high in the western sky during evening twilight at ~18:40 Low in the western sky at ~18:50 1-13, 19-

P/2008 J2 (Beshore): An evening comet visible in a 14-inch telescope
This comet begins the month in Ophiuchus at magnitude 13.0. Look for a 1.0' coma. It should fade slowly, moving into Scorpius by month's end. The best visibility is late in the month as seen from the southern hemisphere.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
40o N Fairly high at ~22:10 Fairly high at ~21:50 Low in the western sky at ~00:20 Not visible Fairly high in the southern sky at ~21:20 1-13, 20-
Equator High at ~22:00 High at ~21:30 Low in the western sky at ~01:50 High during evening twilight at ~19:20 High at ~20:10 1-12, 17-
30o S High at ~22:00 High at ~21:30 Low in the western sky at ~02:50 High during evening twilight at ~18:40 High at ~20:10 1-

C/2007 B2 (Skiff): An evening comet visible in a 12.5-inch telescope
This comet begins the month in Virgo at magnitude 13.3. Look for a 25" coma. It should fade slowly, moving into Corvus by month's end. The best visibility is early in the month as seen from the southern hemisphere.  FINDER CHART
Latitude Visibility June 28 Visibility July 5 Visibility July 12 Visibility July 19 Visibility July 26 Nights Visible
55o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible  
40o N Low in the western sky during evening twilight at ~21:30 Low in the western sky during evening twilight at ~21:30 Low in the western sky during evening twilight at ~20:50 Not visible Very low in the western sky during evening twilight at ~20:50 1-13, 20-27
Equator High at ~19:30 High in moonlight at ~19:30 High during evening twilight at ~19:10 High during evening twilight at ~19:20 High at ~19:30 1-
30o S High at ~18:50 High in moonlight at ~18:50 High during evening twilight at ~18:40 High during evening twilight at ~18:40 High at ~19:00 1-

Summary Data for This Month's Telescopic Comets

Here's a list of the comets brighter than 15th magnitude.  This table is updated as necessary.  The last column indicates the date of the last observation used to compute these values.  The constellation listed is where the comet was on the first of the month.
Comet Constellation

July 1st

July 15th

July 31st

 Observations as of (UT)
Mag Diam Mag Diam Mag Diam
C/2007 W1 (Boattini) Eridanus 5.6 16.7' 6.5 12.5' 7.7 9.7' 2008 June 5
17P/Holmes* (not visible) Gemini 7.1 60' 7.2 60' 7.4 60' 2008 April 24
C/2008 A1 (McNaught) Puppis 9.2 4.2' 8.6 4.6' 7.9 5.3' 2008 June 26
C/2008 J1 (Boattini) Cepheus 10.3 4.5' 10.4 4.3' 10.5 4.1' 2008 June 28
C/2007 N3 (Lulin) Capricornus 10.4 3.7' 10.0 4.1' 9.5 4.5' 2008 June 28
C/2007 G1 (LINEAR) Scorpius 11.3 2.2' 11.3 2.1' 11.3 1.9' 2008 June 28
C/2006 Q1 (McNaught) Crater 11.5 2.6' 11.6 2.4' 11.8 2.3' 2008 May 26
C/2006 OF2 (Broughton) Andromeda 11.8 1.3' 11.7 1.4' 11.5 1.5' 2008 June 28
C/2008 C1 (Chen-Gao) Pyxis 12.3 3.1' 12.8 2.9' 13.3 2.7' 2008 May 12
P/2008 J2 (Beshore) Ophiuchus 13.1 1.2' 13.2 1.1' 13.5 1.0' 2008 June 2
C/2007 B2 (Skiff) Virgo 13.3 25" 13.4 23" 13.5 22" 2008 May 8
C/2005 L3 (McNaught) Serpens Caput 13.7 28" 13.8 27" 13.9 25" 2008 May 8
C/2006 W3 (Christensen) Camelopardus 14.1 31" 14.0 33" 13.8 35" 2008 March 8
8P/Tuttle Centaurus 14.1 3.5' 14.8 3.1' 15.7 2.7' 2008 May 5

*In solar conjunction and not visible

For the latest news and comet observations see Recent News and Observations from the Comet Observation Home Page, or the ICQ/CBAT/MPC: Recent Comet Magnitude Estimates page.  The Astronomical Headlines page of the IAU is also a good source of information, particularly for recent discoveries.

For general information about comets see Gary W. Kronk's Cometography 

Join the Comet Chasing discussion group 

Further reading: see Comet Chasing, Sky & Telescope, April 2005, pg. 83.

All predictions and charts were made with my SkyTools 2  observing software.  Specific information regarding its many unique comet observing features can be found here.
 

Links
Skyhound's Guide to Comets
Skyhound's Guide to Finding Comets
BAA Comet Section
Astronomical Headlines (IAU)
Cometography

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