Here is a list of bright comets, in terms of relative magnitude, since 1935.

Year  Magnitude  Name
1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland  
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham      
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965   -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett      
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka  
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West      
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley      
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp    
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR      
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT      
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR      
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz      
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught      
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS    
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON      
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy      
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

For those of you unfamiliar with astronomical magnitudes, a low magnitude means a bright object. An object with magnitude 0.0 is 100 times brighter than one with magnitude 5.0.
The dimmest object a person with good sight can see in a dark sky has a magnitude of 6.0. Venus, the brightest object in the sky other than the Sun or Moon, has a magnitude of around -4.0, usually. Ikeya-Seki and McNaught are the only comets on this list that were brighter than Venus.

For the purpose of this list a “bright” comet is one with a peak relative magnitude of 4.0 or less. There are several dozen others that are dimmer than this but still, potentially, visible to the naked eye.

dv said:

Here is a list of bright comets, in terms of relative magnitude, since 1935.

Year  Magnitude  Name
1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland  
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham      
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965   -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett      
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka  
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West      
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley      
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp    
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR      
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT      
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR      
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz      
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught      
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS    
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON      
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy      
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

For those of you unfamiliar with astronomical magnitudes, a low magnitude means a bright object. An object with magnitude 0.0 is 100 times brighter than one with magnitude 5.0.
The dimmest object a person with good sight can see in a dark sky has a magnitude of 6.0. Venus, the brightest object in the sky other than the Sun or Moon, has a magnitude of around -4.0, usually. Ikeya-Seki and McNaught are the only comets on this list that were brighter than Venus.

For the purpose of this list a “bright” comet is one with a peak relative magnitude of 4.0 or less. There are several dozen others that are dimmer than this but still, potentially, visible to the naked eye.

Thanks. I wonder why I didn’t see Ikeya-Seki?

Possibly because I was on a ship either between San Francisco and Hawaii or between Hawaii and Sydney.

Michael V said:

dv said:

Here is a list of bright comets, in terms of relative magnitude, since 1935.

Year  Magnitude  Name
1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland  
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham      
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965   -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett      
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka  
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West      
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley      
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp    
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR      
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT      
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR      
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz      
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught      
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS    
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON      
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy      
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

For those of you unfamiliar with astronomical magnitudes, a low magnitude means a bright object. An object with magnitude 0.0 is 100 times brighter than one with magnitude 5.0.
The dimmest object a person with good sight can see in a dark sky has a magnitude of 6.0. Venus, the brightest object in the sky other than the Sun or Moon, has a magnitude of around -4.0, usually. Ikeya-Seki and McNaught are the only comets on this list that were brighter than Venus.

For the purpose of this list a “bright” comet is one with a peak relative magnitude of 4.0 or less. There are several dozen others that are dimmer than this but still, potentially, visible to the naked eye.

Thanks. I wonder why I didn’t see Ikeya-Seki?

Possibly because I was on a ship either between San Francisco and Hawaii or between Hawaii and Sydney.

It was bright only very briefly and was very close to the sun.

dv said:

Here is a list of bright comets, in terms of relative magnitude, since 1935.

Year  Magnitude  Name
1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland  
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham      
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965   -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett      
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka  
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West      
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley      
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp    
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR      
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT      
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR      
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz      
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught      
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS    
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON      
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy      
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

For those of you unfamiliar with astronomical magnitudes, a low magnitude means a bright object. An object with magnitude 0.0 is 100 times brighter than one with magnitude 5.0.
The dimmest object a person with good sight can see in a dark sky has a magnitude of 6.0. Venus, the brightest object in the sky other than the Sun or Moon, has a magnitude of around -4.0, usually. Ikeya-Seki and McNaught are the only comets on this list that were brighter than Venus.

For the purpose of this list a “bright” comet is one with a peak relative magnitude of 4.0 or less. There are several dozen others that are dimmer than this but still, potentially, visible to the naked eye.

2006 -5.5 C/2006 P1 McNaught

Ah, that explains why I could see it. I’m unlikely to see anything from here fainter than 0.0. The light pollution around here is so bright that I’m struggling to see the Southern Crioss.

Where did that list of comets come from?
I generally turn to https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/TheIndex.html for comet data, but I don’t see anything like that there.

mollwollfumble said:

dv said:

Here is a list of bright comets, in terms of relative magnitude, since 1935.

Year  Magnitude  Name
1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland  
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham      
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965   -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett      
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka  
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West      
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley      
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp    
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR      
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT      
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR      
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz      
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught      
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS    
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON      
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy      
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

For those of you unfamiliar with astronomical magnitudes, a low magnitude means a bright object. An object with magnitude 0.0 is 100 times brighter than one with magnitude 5.0.
The dimmest object a person with good sight can see in a dark sky has a magnitude of 6.0. Venus, the brightest object in the sky other than the Sun or Moon, has a magnitude of around -4.0, usually. Ikeya-Seki and McNaught are the only comets on this list that were brighter than Venus.

For the purpose of this list a “bright” comet is one with a peak relative magnitude of 4.0 or less. There are several dozen others that are dimmer than this but still, potentially, visible to the naked eye.

2006 -5.5 C/2006 P1 McNaught

Ah, that explains why I could see it. I’m unlikely to see anything from here fainter than 0.0. The light pollution around here is so bright that I’m struggling to see the Southern Crioss.

Where did that list of comets come from?
I generally turn to https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/TheIndex.html for comet data, but I don’t see anything like that there.

International Comet Quarterly

dv said:

International Comet Quarterly

Here? http://www.icq.eps.harvard.edu/brightest.html

Hang on…Halleys was 1986, not 1982.

She’s right you know

dv said:

She’s right you know

I do know. I’d recently bought the practice in Hamilton. Maybe you should check the others?

buffy said:

dv said:

She’s right you know

I do know. I’d recently bought the practice in Hamilton. Maybe you should check the others?

Good catch Buffy.

Nah I won’t be doing that, though…

It has the designation 1P/1982 U1 Halley because, on this return, it was first sighted in October 1982.

I remember being disappointed by Giotto’s low-res snaps of Halley.

dv said:

Nah I won’t be doing that, though…

It has the designation 1P/1982 U1 Halley because, on this return, it was first sighted in October 1982.

There you are then.

dv said:

Nah I won’t be doing that, though…

It has the designation 1P/1982 U1 Halley because, on this return, it was first sighted in October 1982.

We haven’t all got the technology to see into deep space. Most of us have only got eyes…

:)

I appreciate your point and it would be better if this table included the dates of maximum brightness rather than the year of designation.

Nonetheless making that change wouldn’t change the overall statistics about how frequent bright comets are, but would rather move a few of the specific dates around.

and here we thought this was going to be about how the clearly visible comets occurred between 4E+14 and 8E+14 hertz

dv said:

Nah I won’t be doing that, though…

It has the designation 1P/1982 U1 Halley because, on this return, it was first sighted in October 1982.

I was looking through the photo albums this arvo, and saw my shots of Halley’s Comet.

:)

Michael V said:

dv said:

Nah I won’t be doing that, though…

It has the designation 1P/1982 U1 Halley because, on this return, it was first sighted in October 1982.

I was looking through the photo albums this arvo, and saw my shots of Halley’s Comet.

:)

Story time!

My dad owned property out at Turondale, which forms a triangle with Bathurst and Orange. Beautiful clear dark skies. Anyhoo, dad invited all his siblings and father plus their families to see Halley’s.

I remember standing on the front porch looking at a fuzz ball through binoculars with dad. Everyone else was to my right looking at something with the naked eye.

Next morning, we found a tennis ball hanging from a tree 😂 No one’s ever owned up to it but we all think it was Grandad.

Divine Angel said:

Michael V said:

dv said:

Nah I won’t be doing that, though…

It has the designation 1P/1982 U1 Halley because, on this return, it was first sighted in October 1982.

I was looking through the photo albums this arvo, and saw my shots of Halley’s Comet.

:)

Story time!

My dad owned property out at Turondale, which forms a triangle with Bathurst and Orange. Beautiful clear dark skies. Anyhoo, dad invited all his siblings and father plus their families to see Halley’s.

I remember standing on the front porch looking at a fuzz ball through binoculars with dad. Everyone else was to my right looking at something with the naked eye.

Next morning, we found a tennis ball hanging from a tree 😂 No one’s ever owned up to it but we all think it was Grandad.

Nice.

:)

Divine Angel said:

Michael V said:

dv said:

Nah I won’t be doing that, though…

It has the designation 1P/1982 U1 Halley because, on this return, it was first sighted in October 1982.

I was looking through the photo albums this arvo, and saw my shots of Halley’s Comet.

:)

Story time!

My dad owned property out at Turondale, which forms a triangle with Bathurst and Orange. Beautiful clear dark skies. Anyhoo, dad invited all his siblings and father plus their families to see Halley’s.

I remember standing on the front porch looking at a fuzz ball through binoculars with dad. Everyone else was to my right looking at something with the naked eye.

Next morning, we found a tennis ball hanging from a tree 😂 No one’s ever owned up to it but we all think it was Grandad.

ROFL, sounds like something I’d do*. :)

Um, wasn’t Comet Halley in 1986 ? That’s certainly when I remember seeing it. I started looking for it about a month before the recommended best viewing period – as advised by the telly as there was no internet back then of course – and I measured the tail at roughly five full Moon diameters. A month later, it didn’t seem as long.

• Some good friends of ours in Coffs Harbour has some Green Tree Frogs in the garden, which they didn’t mind seeing. Spocky and I were in a small town to the south of CH, and in a shop we spotted a couple of ceramic Green Tree Frogs. We immediately knew what we had to do. So on the way back to Coffs we stopped at Bunnings for some double-sided tape, then back at their place I got on a chair and stuck them to the gutter at one end of the house.
  They pointed out the frogs at breaky the next day, and we kept a straight face. Anyway, turns out it took them three days to find that the frogs were ceramic ones that we stuck there. They sprayed the hose at them, all sorts of things, but finally worked it out. It was most amusing.

dv said:

She’s right you know

With the naked eye.

Stung by buffy’s rebuff, I’ve added a note to those comets whose year of peak brightness differs from the designation year.

1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze   peaked in 1943
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland   peaked in 1957
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham       peaked in 1960
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965 -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett       peaked in 1970
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka   peaked in 1970
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West       peaked in 1976
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley       peaked in 1986
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp     peaked in 1997
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR       peaked in 2002
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT       peaked in 2003
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR       peaked in 2004
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz       peaked in 2005
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught       peaked in 2007
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes (Oct. 2007)
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS     peaked in 2013
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON       peaked in 2013
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy       peaked in 2015
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen (Dec. 2018)
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

It’s nice to see Australia so well represented here. Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy has two comets on this list. Bradfield, now since past, was a very prolific Australo-Newzealanderisch amateur comet hunter, and has three on this list. Robert H. McNaught has one of the best of them. Graeme White was another successful Australian amateur, back in the day.

*passed

dv said:

Stung by buffy’s rebuff, I’ve added a note to those comets whose year of peak brightness differs from the designation year.

1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze   peaked in 1943
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland   peaked in 1957
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham       peaked in 1960
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965 -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett       peaked in 1970
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka   peaked in 1970
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West       peaked in 1976
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley       peaked in 1986
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp     peaked in 1997
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR       peaked in 2002
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT       peaked in 2003
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR       peaked in 2004
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz       peaked in 2005
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught       peaked in 2007
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes (Oct. 2007)
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS     peaked in 2013
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON       peaked in 2013
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy       peaked in 2015
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen (Dec. 2018)
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

It’s nice to see Australia so well represented here. Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy has two comets on this list. Bradfield, now since past, was a very prolific Australo-Newzealanderisch amateur comet hunter, and has three on this list. Robert H. McNaught has one of the best of them. Graeme White was another successful Australian amateur, back in the day.

Some good work there stout yeoman.

I take it comet Kobayashi-Berger-Milon’s name is not much connected to Takeru Kobayashi,  “the godfather of competitive eating”, nor to the Kobayashi Maru test of Star Trek fame.

Ian said:

I take it comet Kobayashi-Berger-Milon’s name is not much connected to Takeru Kobayashi,  “the godfather of competitive eating”, nor to the Kobayashi Maru test of Star Trek fame.

Also probably not Mr Kobayashi from The Usual Suspects.

Peak Warming Man said:

dv said:

Stung by buffy’s rebuff, I’ve added a note to those comets whose year of peak brightness differs from the designation year.

1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze   peaked in 1943
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland   peaked in 1957
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham       peaked in 1960
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965 -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett       peaked in 1970
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka   peaked in 1970
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West       peaked in 1976
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley       peaked in 1986
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp     peaked in 1997
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR       peaked in 2002
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT       peaked in 2003
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR       peaked in 2004
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz       peaked in 2005
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught       peaked in 2007
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes (Oct. 2007)
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS     peaked in 2013
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON       peaked in 2013
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy       peaked in 2015
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen (Dec. 2018)
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

It’s nice to see Australia so well represented here. Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy has two comets on this list. Bradfield, now since past, was a very prolific Australo-Newzealanderisch amateur comet hunter, and has three on this list. Robert H. McNaught has one of the best of them. Graeme White was another successful Australian amateur, back in the day.

Some good work there stout yeoman.

How come Halley’s took so long to peak? Not one of the others is 4 years in the making.

buffy said:

Peak Warming Man said:

dv said:

Stung by buffy’s rebuff, I’ve added a note to those comets whose year of peak brightness differs from the designation year.

1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze   peaked in 1943
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland   peaked in 1957
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham       peaked in 1960
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965 -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett       peaked in 1970
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka   peaked in 1970
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West       peaked in 1976
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley       peaked in 1986
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp     peaked in 1997
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR       peaked in 2002
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT       peaked in 2003
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR       peaked in 2004
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz       peaked in 2005
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught       peaked in 2007
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes (Oct. 2007)
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS     peaked in 2013
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON       peaked in 2013
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy       peaked in 2015
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen (Dec. 2018)
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

It’s nice to see Australia so well represented here. Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy has two comets on this list. Bradfield, now since past, was a very prolific Australo-Newzealanderisch amateur comet hunter, and has three on this list. Robert H. McNaught has one of the best of them. Graeme White was another successful Australian amateur, back in the day.

Some good work there stout yeoman.

How come Halley’s took so long to peak? Not one of the others is 4 years in the making.

Presumably because it was long expected and many people were hunting for the earliest glimmer of it.

buffy said:

Peak Warming Man said:

dv said:

Stung by buffy’s rebuff, I’ve added a note to those comets whose year of peak brightness differs from the designation year.

1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze   peaked in 1943
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland   peaked in 1957
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham       peaked in 1960
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965 -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett       peaked in 1970
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka   peaked in 1970
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West       peaked in 1976
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley       peaked in 1986
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp     peaked in 1997
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR       peaked in 2002
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT       peaked in 2003
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR       peaked in 2004
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz       peaked in 2005
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught       peaked in 2007
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes (Oct. 2007)
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS     peaked in 2013
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON       peaked in 2013
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy       peaked in 2015
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen (Dec. 2018)
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

It’s nice to see Australia so well represented here. Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy has two comets on this list. Bradfield, now since past, was a very prolific Australo-Newzealanderisch amateur comet hunter, and has three on this list. Robert H. McNaught has one of the best of them. Graeme White was another successful Australian amateur, back in the day.

Some good work there stout yeoman.

How come Halley’s took so long to peak? Not one of the others is 4 years in the making.

Possibly because as a returning comet astronomers knew where to look for it.

Witty Rejoinder said:

buffy said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Some good work there stout yeoman.

How come Halley’s took so long to peak? Not one of the others is 4 years in the making.

Possibly because as a returning comet astronomers knew where to look for it.

Halley’s would have been quite impressive when it first appeared

Cymek said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

buffy said:

How come Halley’s took so long to peak? Not one of the others is 4 years in the making.

Possibly because as a returning comet astronomers knew where to look for it.

Halley’s would have been quite impressive when it first appeared

Yes my mother raved on about it for years and was deeply disappointed on it’s return.

roughbarked said:

Cymek said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

Possibly because as a returning comet astronomers knew where to look for it.

Halley’s would have been quite impressive when it first appeared

Yes my mother raved on about it for years and was deeply disappointed on it’s return.

Yes I don’t remember even seeing it in 1986

Cymek said:

roughbarked said:

Cymek said:

Halley’s would have been quite impressive when it first appeared

Yes my mother raved on about it for years and was deeply disappointed on it’s return.

Yes I don’t remember even seeing it in 1986

I had a Scot friend with me at the time(he’s passed). “He said It is nothin’ but a wee blurry blob”.

Cymek said:

roughbarked said:

Cymek said:

Halley’s would have been quite impressive when it first appeared

Yes my mother raved on about it for years and was deeply disappointed on it’s return.

Yes I don’t remember even seeing it in 1986

It was easily visible to the naked eye just above the eastern horizon at dawn or just before dawn.

Peak Warming Man said:

Cymek said:

roughbarked said:

Yes my mother raved on about it for years and was deeply disappointed on it’s return.

Yes I don’t remember even seeing it in 1986

It was easily visible to the naked eye just above the eastern horizon at dawn or just before dawn.

Visible yea but still a fuzzy blob.

Peak Warming Man said:

Cymek said:

roughbarked said:

Yes my mother raved on about it for years and was deeply disappointed on it’s return.

Yes I don’t remember even seeing it in 1986

It was easily visible to the naked eye just above the eastern horizon at dawn or just before dawn.

Yeah, it wasn’t bad. Just not the spectacle it had reportedly been in early visits.

Witty Rejoinder said:

buffy said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Some good work there stout yeoman.

How come Halley’s took so long to peak? Not one of the others is 4 years in the making.

Possibly because as a returning comet astronomers knew where to look for it.

I don’t know enough about comets…are none of the others ones that were expected?

Halley’s 1986 apparition was the least favourable on record. The comet and Earth were on opposite sides of the Sun in February 1986, creating the worst viewing circumstances for Earth observers for the last 2,000 years

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_Comet

roughbarked said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Cymek said:

Yes I don’t remember even seeing it in 1986

It was easily visible to the naked eye just above the eastern horizon at dawn or just before dawn.

Visible yea but still a fuzzy blob.

Not the one I saw. Quite definitely a streak of light in the Eastern sky.

buffy said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

buffy said:

How come Halley’s took so long to peak? Not one of the others is 4 years in the making.

Possibly because as a returning comet astronomers knew where to look for it.

I don’t know enough about comets…are none of the others ones that were expected?

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Witty Rejoinder said:

buffy said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

Possibly because as a returning comet astronomers knew where to look for it.

I don’t know enough about comets…are none of the others ones that were expected?

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Excellent idea.

buffy said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

buffy said:

I don’t know enough about comets…are none of the others ones that were expected?

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Excellent idea.

He’s classifying them by brightness, without mentioning their periodic status.

buffy said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

buffy said:

I don’t know enough about comets…are none of the others ones that were expected?

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Excellent idea.

I’m not sure about that, not after his blundering mistake ridden first attempt.

>Periodic comets (also known as short-period comets) are comets with orbital periods of less than 200 years or that have been observed during more than a single perihelion passage (e.g. 153P/Ikeya–Zhang). “Periodic comet” is also sometimes used to mean any comet with a periodic orbit, even if greater than 200 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_periodic_comets

Long-period comets come from the region of the Oort cloud which is thought to harbour a trillion comets.

Bubblecar said:

buffy said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Excellent idea.

He’s classifying them by brightness, without mentioning their periodic status.

Well, not really, he’s just putting in the ones that have been bright enough to bother mentioning, I think. He’s classifying them by date.

Peak Warming Man said:

buffy said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Excellent idea.

I’m not sure about that, not after his blundering mistake ridden first attempt.

Like any computer, you only get back data on the information you put in.

buffy said:

Bubblecar said:

buffy said:

Excellent idea.

He’s classifying them by brightness, without mentioning their periodic status.

Well, not really, he’s just putting in the ones that have been bright enough to bother mentioning, I think. He’s classifying them by date.

Choosing them by brightness, I mean.

Peak Warming Man said:

buffy said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Excellent idea.

I’m not sure about that, not after his blundering mistake ridden first attempt.

Well, I wouldn’t have noticed the discrepancy with my own experience except that I had spent some time lying on the ground in the paddock trying to find the thing before I actually saw it one morning when I wandered out the back door and it was sitting there looking at me. A number of early morning alarm clocks and time spent outside in the dark tends to remain in your memory. (Mr buffy did not accompany me on my comet viewings. Annoyingly though, he saw it the same time I did, without the preceding disappointment)

buffy said:

Peak Warming Man said:

dv said:

Stung by buffy’s rebuff, I’ve added a note to those comets whose year of peak brightness differs from the designation year.

1936   3.3   C/1936 K1 Peltier      
1937   3.9   C/1937 N1 Finsler      
1939   3.5   C/1939 H1 Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel
1940   3.5   C/1940 R2 Cunningham    
1941   2.0   C/1941 B2 de Kock-Paraskevopoulos
1942   3.5   C/1942 X1 Whipple-Fedtke-Tevzadze   peaked in 1943
1947   -3.0   C/1947 X1 Southern comet  
1948   -1.0   C/1948 V1 Eclipse comet  
1955   3.5   C/1955 L1 Mrkos      
1956   -0.5   C/1956 R1 Arend-Roland   peaked in 1957
1957   1.0   C/1957 P1 Mrkos      
1959   3.5   C/1959 Y1 Burnham       peaked in 1960
1961   3.5   C/1961 O1 Wilson-Hubbard  
1962   0.0   C/1962 C1 Seki-Lines    
1963   2.8   C/1963 A1 Ikeya      
1964   2.7   C/1964 N1 Ikeya      
1965 -10.0   C/1965 S1 Ikeya-Seki    
1969   0.0   C/1969 Y1 Bennett       peaked in 1970
1969   3.5   C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka   peaked in 1970
1970   1.0   C/1970 K1 White-Ortiz-Bolelli
1973   0.0   C/1973 E1 Kohoutek      
1974   3.9   C/1974 C1 Bradfield    
1975   -3.0   C/1975 V1 West       peaked in 1976
1975   3.7   C/1975 N1 Kobayashi-Berger-Milon
1980   3.5   C/1980 Y1 Bradfield    
1982   2.4   1P/1982 U1 Halley       peaked in 1986
1983   1.7   C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock  
1989   2.8   C/1989 W1 Aarseth-Brewington  
1990   3.6   C/1990 K1 Levy      
1995   -0.8   C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp     peaked in 1997
1996   0.0   C/1996 B2 Hyakutake    
1998   0.5   C/1998 J1 SOHO      
2000   2.5   C/2000 WM_1 LINEAR       peaked in 2002
2001   2.8   C/2001 Q4 NEAT      
2001   3.0   C/2001 A2 LINEAR      
2002   -0.5   C/2002 V1 NEAT       peaked in 2003
2002   2.2   C/2002 T7 LINEAR       peaked in 2004
2002   2.9   2002 153P/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang
2004   3.3   C/2004 F4 Bradfield    
2004   3.5   C/2004 Q2 Machholz       peaked in 2005
2006   -5.5   C/2006 P1 McNaught       peaked in 2007
2007   2.4   17P2007   Holmes (Oct. 2007)
2011   -1.0   C/2011 W3 Lovejoy      
2011   1.0   C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS     peaked in 2013
2012   3.6   C/2012 S1 ISON       peaked in 2013
2014   3.7   C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy       peaked in 2015
2018   3.9   2018 046P/Wirtanen (Dec. 2018)
2020   1.5   C/2020 F3 NEOWISE      

It’s nice to see Australia so well represented here. Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy has two comets on this list. Bradfield, now since past, was a very prolific Australo-Newzealanderisch amateur comet hunter, and has three on this list. Robert H. McNaught has one of the best of them. Graeme White was another successful Australian amateur, back in the day.

Some good work there stout yeoman.

How come Halley’s took so long to peak? Not one of the others is 4 years in the making.

This is the time from first observation to peak. Astronomers already knew that Halley was coming, and pretty much exactly where to look for it, so they were able to spy it long before perihelion … it was further away than Saturn when first “recovered” in this return.

roughbarked said:

Cymek said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

Possibly because as a returning comet astronomers knew where to look for it.

Halley’s would have been quite impressive when it first appeared

Yes my mother raved on about it for years and was deeply disappointed on it’s return.

The next time will be better, probably, as it will be closer to the Earth when at its brightest.
It’s not impossible that I’ll see it.

dv said:

roughbarked said:

Cymek said:

Halley’s would have been quite impressive when it first appeared

Yes my mother raved on about it for years and was deeply disappointed on it’s return.

The next time will be better, probably, as it will be closer to the Earth when at its brightest.
It’s not impossible that I’ll see it.

Yeah you’re a chance if we’re not still in lockdown.

Witty Rejoinder said:

buffy said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

Possibly because as a returning comet astronomers knew where to look for it.

I don’t know enough about comets…are none of the others ones that were expected?

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Some of the others were returning comets, but shorter period.

Peak Warming Man said:

buffy said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Excellent idea.

I’m not sure about that, not after his blundering mistake ridden first attempt.

Now see here … I didn’t err, I listed the comets by year of designation (discovery or recovery).

dv said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

buffy said:

I don’t know enough about comets…are none of the others ones that were expected?

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Some of the others were returning comets, but shorter period.

So theoretically people did know where to look well ahead for some of the others. I can see a couple at 2 year gaps on the list. But not many.

buffy said:

dv said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

I dunno. We’ll get DV to look into it.

Some of the others were returning comets, but shorter period.

So theoretically people did know where to look well ahead for some of the others. I can see a couple at 2 year gaps on the list. But not many.

Perhaps there was just more interest in Halley. It’s probably the most famous comet.

Here he is with his parents & siblings. Tragically, he died at the age of 22 from an infected blister.

…but he was a wrong thread, not a comet.

dv said:

buffy said:

dv said:

Some of the others were returning comets, but shorter period.

So theoretically people did know where to look well ahead for some of the others. I can see a couple at 2 year gaps on the list. But not many.

Perhaps there was just more interest in Halley. It’s probably the most famous comet.

Only because the ancients didn’t know its name.