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Several comets have been discovered recently, but none are expected to be visible to us. Meanwhile, Comet LINEAR (1999 L3) is presently brighter than expected, positions are presented below. The magnitude predictions are estimates.
Kazimeras Cernis, a visual discoverer of three comets that bear his name, has now found a comet on images produced by the SOHO satellite. Named C/1999 Y2, it was in a retrograde orbit and never got closer to the sun than four million miles. No Earth-based observations were made of the comet. Perihelion was on December 28.
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On January 24, SOHO images yielded yet another comet, a Sungrazer found by J.D. Shanklin. The LINEAR program found a comet on December 7, and one each on January 27 and 29. The Spacewatch program found one on January 12. Not to be left out, the Catalina program found a faint comet on February 4.
COMET HUNTING NOTES: A few amateurs have found comets on the SOHO images. The SOHO webpage carries images that have been quickly inspected for comets. Anyone can inspect the images and search for additional, fainter comets. This reminds me of the Palomar Sky Survey plates, from which comets were discovered for decades.
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