Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner
True color image of periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, obtained on 2018 Sep. 20 (3h05-3h09UT) with 60-cm, f/3.3 Deltagraph telecope and LBVR filters. Exposure time was 30s in each filter.
Copyright © 2018 by H. Mikuz, Črni Vrh Observatory.
Comet Observation database (COBS) saw first light in 2010 and is maintained by Crni Vrh Observatory. It is a free and unique service for comet observers worldwide which allows submission, display and analysis of comet data in a single location.
Amateur astronomers can make valuable contributions to comet science by observing comets and submitting their observations to COBS as professional astronomers typically do not have telescope time required to acquire regular observations. We therefore encourage comet observers worldwide to submit their observations and contribute to the COBS database.
Registered observers may submit observations using a web based form which which stores the observations in an SQL database and stores them in ICQ format. Observations may be queried and plotted in the web site or exported for further processing, analysis and publication. The database currently contains more than 236000 comet observations of more than 1200 different comets and represents the largest available database of comet observations.
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Light-curve of C/2018 V1 (Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto) (Nov 21, 2018).
Type Comet name Obs date Mag App T Pow Dia DC Tail PA Observer V 64 2018 11 20.07 [10.6 20.0T 50 AGUaa C 2018V1 2018 11 18.24 9.0 7.2R a120 2.82 JAMaa V 2018V1 2018 11 18.22 7.9 20.0L 42 5 6 SCH04 V 2016N6 2018 11 18.20 12.5 30.5L 214 0.7 3 KAR02 V 2018V1 2018 11 18.19 8.2 19.8L 49 3.5 4 4.5m300 HAR11 V 2018V1 2018 11 18.17 8.3 5.0B 10 3.5 6 KAR02 V 38 2018 11 18.17 9.9 25.2L 63 3 3 HAR11 V 2018V1 2018 11 18.17 7.9 18.5L 73 4 4 KWI V 2016R2 2018 11 18.15 13.4 25.2L 126 0.55 3 HAR11 V 38 2018 11 18.10 10.1: 25.4T 96 2.9 4 COLac V 64 2018 11 18.08 9.0 19.8B 49 8 2 HAR11 V 64 2018 11 18.08 10.3 25.4T 96 3.4 4 COLac V 38 2018 11 18.02 9.7 18.5L 73 2.9 3 KWI V 38 2018 11 18.00 9.8 25.4L 64 3 3/ MEY V 64 2018 11 18.00 9.3 18.5L 73 2.6 3 KWImore...
Comet Mag Trend Observable When visible
45N 45S
46P/Wirtanen 6.0 bright 62N to 90S Best morning Best morning
C/2018 V1 (Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto) 7.0 bright 89N to 90S Early evening Early evening
64P/Swift-Gehrels 9.5 fade 90N to 54S Best morning Best evening
C/2018 L2 (ATLAS) 10.0 bright 90N to 83S Evening Early evening
38P/Stephan-Oterma 11.0 bright 90N to 65S Best morning Best morning
C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS) 11.0 fade 16N to 90S Never up Never up
21P/Giacobini-Zinner 11.5 fade 53N to 90S Early evening Best morning
C/2016 N6 (PANSTARRS) 12.5 steady 85N to 90S Best morning Best morning
29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 12.5 steady 89N to 90S Best evening Best evening
C/2016 R2 (PANSTARRS) 12.5 steady 90N to 48S Evening Early evening
78P/Gehrels 13.0 bright 82N to 90S Evening Best evening
C/2015 O1 (PANSTARRS) 14.0 steady 90N to 55S Best morning Early evening
123P/West-Hartley 14.0 bright 90N to 63S Best morning Early evening
59P/Kearns-Kwee 14.0 steady 90N to 65S Best morning Early evening
C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) 14.0 steady 47N to 90S Best morning Best morning
The observable region is an approximate indication of the latitude at which the comet may be seen. The period when visible is calculated for latitude 45°N and 45°S.
The first known interstellar object to visit our solar system -- named 'Oumuamua -- was detected in October 2017 by Hawaii's Pan-STARRS 1 telescope. But it was too faint for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to detect when it looked more than two months after the object's closest approach to Earth in early September. That 'non-detection' puts a new limit on how large the strange object can be, astronomers now report.
CBET 4569 (issued on 2018, November 08) and MPEC 2018-V151 (2018, November 11), announce the discovery of a 10th-magnitude comet by Donald E. Machholz (Colfax, CA, U.S.A) and independently by Shigehisa Fujikawa (Kan'onji, Kagawa, Japan) and Masayuki Iwamoto (Awa, Tokushima, Japan).
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On 30 September 2016, ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft came closer than ever to the target it had studied from afar for more than two years, concluding its mission with a controlled impact onto the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G).
