333p 20240229 ahale

With all the attention being paid to 12P/Pons-Brooks (deservedly so) and other bright comets at the moment . . . there are some other ones, like 333P/LINEAR, a rather interesting Jupiter-family comet that is returning later this year and which should become bright enough for visual observations. I successfully recovered this comet on February 29 with one of the 1.0-meter scopes at LCO-SAAO, with confirming images taken later that date at LCO-SSO and on March 1, again at LCO-SAAO.

I’m attaching one of the recovery images taken Feb. 29 from LCO-SAAO. Standard orientation (i.e., north up, east left), approximate dimensions 4 x 2.5 arcmin. Exposure time 5 minutes, contrast slightly enhanced, but no other significant processing. The comet (just to the left of center) is about magnitude 21 and appears completely stellar