Using giant 25 x 150 binoculars, Syogo Utsunomiya has
discovered a 10th-magnitude comet in the constellation
Pegasus. The comet is low in the predawn sky, about 33
degrees from the Sun. According to IAU Circular 7854,
issued March 20th, Utsunomiya made the find on March
18th and confirmed it on the 19th from his observing site
near Kumamoto, southern Japan. He described it as a
diffuse glow less than 2 arcminutes across.

At the request of the Central Bureau for Astronomical
Telegrams, S. Sanchez and J. Rodriguez on the Spanish
island of Mallorca and Bert Stevens in Las Cruces, New
Mexico, obtained the first set of astrometric measurements
on March 20th.

The future motion of this comet is still undetermined,
but a representative parabolic orbit yields the following
crude ephemeris that may help observers locate the object
during the next few days. Each position is for 0 hours
Universal Time on the dates indicated.

Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Editor
Sky & Telescope

Comet C/2002 F1

Date R.A. (2000) Dec. Elong. Const.
(0h UT) h m o ' o
Mar 21 21 53.0 +07 13 32.6 Peg
Mar 22 21 57.3 +08 07 32.6 Peg
Mar 23 22 01.9 +09 04 32.4 Peg
Mar 24 22 07.0 +10 04 32.2 Peg
Mar 25 22 12.7 +11 07 31.8 Peg
Mar 26 22 18.8 +12 13 31.4 Peg

Can we get a newly discovered comet way above the horizon guys, say 30 degrees?
Still, very cool news,
SteveS