During the whohle apparition comet 88P/Howell could not be observed from mid-European latitudes, because its altitude did not exceed 10° above the southwestern evening horizon.
According to 115 published international observations the comet showed the well-known very rapid brightening prior and the much slower fading after perihelion. However, the given post-perihelion parameter values are not well determined.
pre-perihelion: m = 2.4 mag + 5×log D + 39×log r post-perihelion: m = 7.2 mag + 5×log D + 3×log rThe maximum brightness of 8.7 mag was reached in mid-October.
The coma diameter increased enormously from 0.7' (45.000 km) at the start of the apparition to 6' (475.000 km) in mid-October. The coma was significantly condensed (DC 5-6) at the first weeks, getting more diffuse as time passed (DC 3-4).
Total Brightness and Coma Diameter
Andreas Kammerer
