C/2019 L3 (ATLAS)
Unfiltered image of comet C/2019 L3 (ATLAS), obtained on 2021 Feb. 17 (19h31-19h43UT) with 60-cm, f/3.3 Deltagraph telescope and CCD. Exposure time was 10x60 seconds. Total exposure time 10 minutes.
Copyright © 2021 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 258000 comet observations of more than 1400 different comets and represents the largest available database of comet observations.
The data stored in COBS is freely available to everyone who honors our data usage policy. Please cite COBS as the reference if you use it for comet studies.
Light-curve of C/2020 S3 (Erasmus) (Apr 18, 2021).
| Type | Comet name | Obs date | Mag | App | T | Pow | Dia | DC | Tail | PA | Obs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 17.08 | 9.8 | 25.4 | T | 96 | 4.6 | 3 | COLac | ||
| C | C/2017 K2 | 2021 04 17.08 | 13.7 | 20.3 | Y | C000 | 0.9 | BUIaa | |||
| V | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 17.04 | 7.8 | 10.0 | B | 25 | 15 | 3 | GON05 | ||
| V | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 17.03 | 7.7 | 5.0 | B | 10 | 15 | 3 | GON05 | ||
| C | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 17.01 | 10.1 | 10.0 | R | C000 | 6.7 | 4.7m | 223 | DEK01 | |
| V | C/2020 T2 | 2021 04 16.96 | 11.5 | 29.8 | L | 95 | 1.8 | 3 | HAR11 | ||
| V | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 16.95 | 9.5 | 29.8 | L | 95 | 3.8 | 1 | HAR11 | ||
| C | C/2021 A1 | 2021 04 16.95 | 17.1 | 10.0 | R | D350 | 0.9 | 0.8m | 139 | DEK01 | |
| C | C/2020 T2 | 2021 04 16.85 | 12.1 | 20.3 | Y | B700 | 2.3 | BUIaa | |||
| V | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 16.33 | 10.2 | 27.0 | L | 55 | 3 | 3/ | DES01 | ||
| V | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 16.08 | 9.9 | 25.4 | T | 96 | 2.9 | 2/ | COLac | ||
| V | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 16.06 | 10.2: | 20.0 | L | 80 | & 3 | 1 | SCH04 | ||
| C | 413P | 2021 04 15.21 | 17.4 | 61.0 | C | a300 | STIaa | ||||
| C | C/2019 O3 | 2021 04 15.17 | 14.8 | 54.0 | L | a 1 | 0.7 | 6 | KUT | ||
| V | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 15.15 | 10.2 | 25.0 | L | 60 | 7.2 | 3 | KUT | ||
| C | 7P | 2021 04 15.13 | 14.0: | 54.0 | L | a 1 | 0.9 | 5 | KUT | ||
| V | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 15.09 | 9.4 | 25.4 | T | 96 | 4.1 | 2/ | COLac | ||
| C | C/2020 R4 | 2021 04 15.07 | 9.8 | 10.0 | R | C000 | 6.7 | 3.0m | 226 | DEK01 | |
| C | C/2021 A1 | 2021 04 14.99 | 17.7 | 10.0 | R | A800 | 0.5 | 0.3m | 173 | DEK01 | |
| V | C/2020 T2 | 2021 04 14.95 | 12.7: | 54.0 | L | 12 | 0.9 | 5 | KUT |
| Comet name | Mag | Trend | Observable | Visiblity 45N |
Visiblity 45S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/2020 R4 (ATLAS) | 9.5 | steady | 90N to 71S | Best morning | Best morning |
| 10P/Tempel | 10.5 | fade | 84N to 90S | Early evening | Early evening |
| C/2020 T2 (Palomar) | 11.5 | bright | 90N to 56S | Best morning | Best morning |
| C/2019 L3 (ATLAS) | 12.0 | bright | 90N to 39S | All night | Never up |
| C/2020 X3 (SOHO) | 12.5 | fade | 68N to 90S | Evening | Best evening |
| C/2021 D1 (SWAN) | 12.5 | fade | 90N to 56S | Evening | Early evening |
| P/2013 PA104 (PANSTARRS) | 13.5 | fade | 84N to 90S | Best evening | Best evening |
| 7P/Pons-Winnecke | 13.5 | bright | 90N to 83S | Best morning | Best morning |
| C/2019 N1 (ATLAS) | 13.5 | fade | 28N to 90S | Never up | Never up |
| C/2020 J1 (SONEAR) | 13.5 | bright | 53N to 90S | Early evening | Best morning |
| 246P/NEAT | 13.5 | bright | 65N to 90S | Early evening | Best morning |
| 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann | 14.0 | steady | 90N to 64S | Evening | Early evening |
| 28P/Neujmin | 14.0 | fade | 90N to 85S | Poor elongation | Poor elongation |
| C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) | 14.0 | bright | 90N to 49S | Best morning | Early evening |
| C/2019 T4 (ATLAS) | 14.0 | steady | 59N to 90S | Evening | Best evening |
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.
In order to unify the camera type abbreviation keys of all FLI camera models, we have added some additional camera type keys.
The world's first ground-based observations of the bare nucleus of a comet nearing the end of its active life revealed that the nucleus has a diameter of 800 meters and is covered with large grains of phyllosilicate; on Earth large grains of phyllosilicate are commonly available as talcum powder. This discovery provides clues to piece together the history of how this comet evolved into its current burnt-out state.
CBET 4953 & MPEC 2021-G80, issued on 2021, April 07, announce that an apparently asteroidal object (magnitude ~21.0) discovered on CCD images obtained with the F51 Pan-STARRS 1 survey's 1.8m Ritchey-Chretien on 2019, October 22.22 and designated A/2019 U5 (cf. MPEC 2019-V10) has been found to show cometary appearance by other CCD observers over the past half year. The new comet has been designated C/2019 U5 (PANSTARRS).
New observations indicate that the rogue comet 2I/Borisov, which is only the second and most recently detected interstellar visitor to our Solar System, is one of the most pristine ever observed. Astronomers suspect that the comet most likely never passed close to a star, making it an undisturbed relic of the cloud of gas and dust it formed from.
CBET 4949 & MPEC 2021-F110, issued on 2021, March 25, announce that an apparently asteroidal object (magnitude ~21.0) discovered on CCD images obtained with the Mt. Lemmon Survey's 1.5-m reflector on 2020 Mar. 22 and designated A/2020 F7 (cf. MPEC 2020-G78) has been found to show cometary appearance by numerous other CCD observers over the past half year. The new comet has been designated C/2020 F7 (Lemmon).
CBET 4948 & MPEC 2021-F67, issued on 2021, March 22, announce the discovery of an apparently asteroidal object (magnitude ~19.5) on CCD images taken on Feb. 19.5 UT & Mar. 09-5 with the 1.2-m Schmidt telescope at Palomar in the course of the "Zwicky Transient Facility" (ZTF) search program (the object was reported twice by the ZTF survey team as two different objects) . This object has been found to show cometary appearance by CCD astrometrists elsewhere. The new comet has been designated C/2021 D2 (ZTF).
