C/2003 H3 (NEAT)
This comet was discovered by the NEAT telescope at
Haleakala (Hawaii) on April
30th 2003. The comet was
magnitude 17 and had a small coma. Many observers confirmed that the
object was cometary. This comet was discovered just past perihelion, which
happened on April 24th 2003 at 2.90AU. This appears to be a rather
small object.
The light curve showed a rapid brightening as
the geocentric distance reduced through May 2003, before declining again, with
the peak brightness some 30 days after perihelion.
The comet was only
observed by Spanish observers for about 5 weeks, although
during that time a substantial number of observers took data (Isidro Almendros,
MPC 212; Ramón Naves & Montse Campàs, MPC 213; Esteban Reina, MPC 232; Julio
Castellano, MPC 939; Josep Lluis Salto, MPC A02; Juan Lacruz, MPC J87).
However, the light
curve is somewhat misleading as the physical size of the 10” aperture was
reducing with the geocentric distance thus reducing the amount of the coma
entering the aperture. 
When we look at Afrho we compensate for the
changing aperture size and see that the activity of the comet was genuinely
increasing after perihelion. Afrho increased from approximately 20-cm at T+7
days to 90-cm at T+30 days. This suggests that the comet was activated by the
perihelion passage, possibly by aspect changes.
CCD observation in a 10
arcsecond aperture by:
·
Isidro Almendros – MPC
212
·
Ramón Naves & Montse
Campàs - MPC 213
·
Esteban Reina – MPC 232
·
Julio Castellano – MPC
939
·
Juan Lacruz – MPC J87
Última actualización 03/05/2006