[BAA-ebulletin 00631] Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd

[BAA electronic bulletins service]

Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd has been putting on a good show in the evening 
sky over the last few months. It is currently in Hercules at around 
magnitude 7 and should be visible in binoculars in a dark sky. The comet 
currently shows nice dust and gas tails and we have received a number of 
images which are stored in the Comet Section web gallery. This can be 
accessed by going to http://www.britastro.org and selecting 
"Galleries->Comets" from the main menu bar.

As noted in the December Journal (p331) the comet remains in Hercules 
until the middle of February next year but the best viewing time will 
move from the evening to the morning as we move into 2012. It is 
expected to be at its brightest in early February, perhaps even reaching 
6th magnitude if the current performance is maintained.

An evening sky finder chart for the next couple of months can be found here:

http://www.britastro.org/misc/2009p1_finder.jpg

The Moon is currently moving into the evening sky so the best views will 
be later in December once dark skies return.

We are planning to include a short review of observations of this comet 
in the February Journal. Please submit any observations to the Comet 
Section using the address cometobs at britastro.org so that we can consider 
them for inclusion.

Nick James & Denis Buczynski.