C/2002 O6 (SWAN)

C/2002 O6 (SWAN) was discovered by the SWAN ultraviolet detector on the SOHO satellite. This detector has proved a very efficient means of observing comets due to the ultraviolet emission from the OH radical which maps water vapour emission from comets very efficiently. The comet was initially detected by M.Suzuki on July 25th on SWAN images posted in the Internet and later located on images back to July 13th. Unusually for a SOHO comet it could be detected visually and was confirmed very low in twilight by Alan Hale on August 1st at magnitude 9 before brightening rapidly to magnitude 6. The comet is of very long period. It reached perihelion at 0.495AU from the Sun on September 9th and has an inclination of 58º.


The light curve

G

The comet's light curve showed a very rapid initial brightening pre-perihelion before it very rapidly faded-out just before reaching perihelion. No observations were made after mid-September at which point it was fading very rapidly and at an increasingly small elongation.

This comet was very difficult to observe, always at small elongation and so there is only data on two nights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G

 

 

The data shows a rather condensed coma profile on August 18th at a time when the comet would have been close to naked-eye visibility in a dark sky with magnitude 6.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CCD aperture photometry in an aperture of 4'.0 by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image: August 14th 2002

Image of C/2002 O6 (SWAN) taken with a 0.25-m f/4.0 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD from close to Barcelona (Spain).

60s exposure. The comet shows a fine symmetrical coma.


Carles Pineda
MPC J91, Observatorio Alt Emporda (SPAIN)

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image of C/2002 O6 (SWAN) taken with a 0.25-m f/4.0 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD from close to Barcelona (Spain).

120s exposure. The comet shows a well-developed coma and a faint tail.

Carles Pineda
MPC J91, Observatorio Alt Emporda (SPAIN)

 

 



Última actualización 19/01/2003
Por M.R.Kidger