Current comet magnitudes (December 18) and observable region (December 15) Comet                          Magnitude   Trend   Observable    When visible
McNaught (2006 P1)                  4 ?    bright  Poor elongation
Garradd (2006 L1)                   9.5    fade    90 N to 20 S  all night
SWAN (2006 M4)                      9.5    fade    75 N to 25 S  evening
4P/Faye                            11      fade    75 N to 50 S  best evening
McNaught (2006 L2)                 11.5    steady  80 N to 45 N  early morning
LINEAR (2005 YW)                   12 ?    steady  20 N to 50 S  morning
Levy (2006 T1)                     13 ?    fade    30 N to 40 S  early morning
29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann           13 ?    varies  90 N to 30 S  best evening
Siding Spring (2006 HR30)          14      steady  90 N to 10 S  evening
NEAT (2006 K4)                    [14 ?    steady  Poor elongation

The observable region is an approximate indication of the latitude at which the comet may be seen. Under good conditions comets may be visible outside this range. The period when visible is for the UK if the comet is visible from the UK, otherwise for 40 S or the Equator as appropriate. ==========================
2006 P1 (McNaught)
Rob McNaught has discovered another comet, during the course of the Siding Spring Survey, on August 7.51. The object was 17th magnitude and reaches perihelion at 0.17 AU in mid January 2007. The orbit suggests that it will be a bright object in the SOHO (& STEREO) fields when it reaches perihelion. It will not be observable visually prior to perihelion, but could be a 5th magnitude object for Southern Hemisphere observers as it emerges from solar conjunction. It will fade rapidly and not be visible from the Northern Hemisphere. It came within visual range in Septembe, with visual observations continuing into November, by which time it had reached 9th magnitude. Twilight images into December suggest that the brightening is continuing. 9 observations received so far suggest a preliminary light curve of m = 4.4 + 5 log d + 14.9 log r Observations in ICQ format, last observation 2006 November 18, updated 2006 November 22. Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2006-V20 [2006 November 8] that The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000059 and +0.000518 (+/- 0.000048) AU^-1, respectively. The small "original" value suggests that this is a "new" comet from the Oort cloud on its first pass through the inner solar system. Such comets often brighten more slowly when they approach closer to the Sun. Taking this into account the likely peak brightness in January is between 2nd and 0th magnitude, although if it continues brightening at the present rate it could be a rather unlikely -9. It is not well placed for observing and remains close to the horizon in the evening twilight for northern hemisphere observers. It will however be worth CCD or DSLR imagers attempting to catch it in order to update the light curve. The comet remains around 15 degrees north of the Sun at about 17:00, when the Sun is 8 degrees below the horizon and the comet 7 degrees above the horizon for the southern UK. This will be a difficult observation, but I hope some observers will be able to image the comet. Some US observers have imaged the comet as recently as December 8, although the posted images give no scale or orientation, making interpretation difficult. On December 12 the optimum range of latitudes for observing the comet with the Sun just 8 degrees below the horizon is 45 N to 70 N. For a lower solar elevation more northerly observers are better placed, with the Shetland Islands the best UK location. If it does become bright, then visual observation may be possible for UK observers from the beginning of January until the 12th, with the comet a few degrees up at 17:00. Following perihelion it will be visible in the SOHO LASCO C3 field from January 12 to 15. 以上内容摘自：
http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/

中国公众观测到9年来最亮彗星(图)
http://www.sina.com.cn 2007年01月10日 10:40 新华网
科技时代_中国公众观测到9年来最亮彗星(图)
德国天文爱好者拍摄的马克罗特彗星(来源：NASA网站/新浪科技配图)

　　新华网南京1月10日电 (记者蔡玉高　周润健) 中科院紫金山天文台研究员王思潮告诉记者，1月8日和9日，中国天文爱好者观测到了9年来现身天宇的最明亮的彗星，即马克罗特彗星，并用相机拍下了其倩影。在接下来的两天里，感兴趣的公众还可对其进行观测。

　　据了解，继8日凌晨用望远镜观测到马克罗特彗星后，9日太阳下山后半小时，黑龙江省大庆市天文爱好者张学军用口径为50毫米、放大倍数10倍的双筒望远镜再次观测到了这颗彗星。

　　张学军描述，彗星中间呈星状核亮点，彗尾长达1.5度到2度，此时彗星的仰角不到10度。在太阳下山后40分钟，彗星已肉眼可见，有0.5度的彗尾，亮度大概为-2星等。王思潮分析，考虑到大气消光和太阳余晖的影响，彗星的实际亮度应该比-2星等更亮，可能达到-4星等。

　　此外，9日凌晨，黑龙江省大庆市的另一位网名为“DQWRJ”的网友用
数码相机拍下了彗星，彗星呈椭球状，并带有扫帚状彗尾。

　　王思潮介绍，根据目前的变化情况，在接下来的两天时间里，有兴趣的公众可选择凌晨和傍晚对马克罗特继续观测，在西面没有山或高大建筑物等遮挡的空旷处，用双筒望远镜耐心寻找。傍晚观测应定在太阳下山后半小时到45分钟，凌晨观测则在太阳升起前45分钟到30分钟为最佳。

　　据了解，这颗以发现者马克罗特命名的彗星是2006年8月7日在
澳大利亚用60 公分口径的施密特望远镜发现的，当时十分暗淡。然而，最近几天，她的亮度已达到-4星等，已可与夜空中最明亮的金星媲美，只是，由于离太阳较近，大部分亮光被淹没在了太阳光辉中。她来自非常遥远的奥尔特云，经过上百万年的长途跋涉，将于2007年1月12日飞近太阳，随后又将飞回遥远的奥尔特云，不再回归。

彗星图片可参见：http://tech.sina.com.cn/d/focus/Mcnaught_comet/index.shtml

初中时,一次生物老师讲非洲草原上的生态环境,全班无人听讲，水宜生健康杯遂怒，曰：“你们都看我呀！你们不看我，怎么知道非洲野猫长什么样子啊!”


生物课上,老师说：“其实黄鼠狼是不吃鸡的,水宜生健康杯科学家做过一个实验,曾经把一只鸡和一只黄鼠狼关在一起,第二天你们猜怎么了?”同学插嘴道:“鸡怀孕了?”


高三,几何老师是一老太，爱自吹,特烦人。水宜生健康杯一日在课上说:“我在市教育局都很受重视的，他们总是请我去一起研究问题,每次都是车接车送的。”我无意中问：“三轮么?”结果,从此一个星期被禁止上几何课。


高中的时候,第一次上劳动课,水宜生健康杯老师是个老头,自我介绍说：“我叫吴树山。”我突然来了灵感,马上接道：“西北望长安,可怜无数山。”全班爆笑，老师面色铁青,随后我被罚干重活。


上高中时,水宜生健康杯英语老师(一个五十左右中年妇女)嫌我们几个男生不听讲,遂大骂:“你们想什么呢？”我当时懵了,也不知怎么的就说了一句:“想你呢!”教室里沉默半晌,只是一双双惊恐的眼睛在望着我。老师呆了一会儿,后指着我大骂:“你就是一个臭流氓!”冤啦