The discovery was made AFTER perihelium (= when the comet is closest to the Sun and usually brightest), and it seems like the comet is in an outburst. The magnitude is smaller than Comet 103P Hartley 2`s, but with higher condensation.
What is even more spectacular about this very unexpected discovery is that the comet could hardly be easier to find in the sky - it can be seen right next to the planet Saturn, and both the comet and the planet could be observed in the same field of view through my birding scope (magn 20x) which is currently serving as my observing scope in the early morning.
10 November 2010
My second observation of Ikeya-Murakami. he comet continues its orbit and is heading towards another bright beacon, Venus, but will be difficult to observe the following days due to the interference of strong Moon-light.
Comet C/2010 V1 Ikeya-Murakami and Saturn
7 November 2010
My first observation of Comet Ikeya-Murakami and the 16th comet that I observe. The comet could only just be seen visually using averted vision, but in images a bullet-like shape could be seen, not unlike a mini-version of Comet 17/P Holmes. This image is a stack of 5x30 sec exposures at ISO 2000 using a 300mm lens in the early morning hours of Nov 7 when Saturn had just climbed above the east-southeastern horizon. Comet Hartley could be observed during the same time - it is not often two bright comets can be observed simultaneously!
Comet C/2010 V1 Ikeya-Murakami and Saturn
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