The first really bright discovery of 1990 came on May 20 when David Levy discovered 1990c. My first observation was on May 23 when the comet was magnitude 10.3 with a 3', moderately condensed coma and no tail. The comet brightened steadily becoming visible to the naked-eye by early August. The brightness peaked around the end of August at magnitude 3.9. During this time the comet was less than 0.5AU from the Earth and as a result, the coma became very large, reaching 20' on August 23.

1994 saw much more comet activity than the preceeding 2 years. In March comet McNaught Russell reached magnitude 8.6 and displayed a moderately condensed coma up to 7' across. On March 6 and 7, I suspected a very faint tail, but was never certain.

The periodic comet Temple 1 made another return during 1994, reaching 9th magnitude. I first observed it on April 30 as a 10.6 magnitude object with a 1.5' diameter coma that was moderately condensed.

From there, the comet brightened slowly until early June, when it peaked at around magnitude 9.6. It then faded steadily until late August when it became too faint for me to observe.

There were 2 other comets around at the same time. The first was Takamizawa-Levy 1994G1 which peaked at around magnitude 8.0 during June. Unfortunately at this time it was a northern hemisphere object only. The other comet was Takamizawa 1994J2 which reached magnitude 9.2 in late May. I only observed this object on a couple of occasions due to study and Jupiter observing. Both of these comets had a coma that was around 4' across and moderately diffuse. Neither displayed any visible tail.

Without a doubt, THE event of the 1990's was when comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter. The first time in recorded history, a collision between a planet and another body had been observed. The fact that we also had over a year's warning, meant that during July, 1994, there was probably not a single operational telescope on Earth or in space that was not aimed at Jupiter. For my own part, I had been making detailed observations or Jupiter at every opportunity beginning in March. I even took an 8" telescope with me on a visit to Singapore and Malaysia during June. This also meant a severe neglect of other comets as the time of impact drew near. Before the impacts I did not have access to a telescope large enough to allow me to observe the comet. However the impacts more than made up for that! Since there are plenty of websites which discuss the comet and the impacts, all I will mention here are a few of my own observations.

My first opportunity to observe the results of the first impacts was on July 18. Waiting for the skies to become dark enough to observe was a frustrating time. I had seen messages posted on the internet that the results were impressive and when finally it was dark enough to observe Jupiter, it was very clear that the reports were not exaggerated! Two large whitish regions with dark spots near their centres in the South Temperate Belt were rotating into view, radically changing its appearance from the previous night.

The following night I observed something even more impressive. When fragment "G" impacted the planet, I saw a small plume of material rising off the limb of the planet. It was visible for about 3 minutes and looked very similar to a moon coming out from behind the planet. To have been visible from Earth with a 12" telescope, it must have been quite an impact. Several observing companions also saw the plume. (When they were able to drag me away from the scope!) About 20 minutes after the plume disappeared, the impact site rotated into view as a very dark spot. When the spot was on the limb, the limb appeared to have a bite taken out of it. About 40 minutes later, a dark ring was observed around the dark spot. Below are a couple of my sketchs of my observations.

Following the excitement of the comet impacts, it was difficult to return to normal comet observing. However there were several comets on display. The first was comet Nakamura-Nishimura-Macholtz 1994N1. I first observed this comet in August when it was a 9.6 magnitude object with a 4' coma that was fairly well condensed.

As comet Nakamura-Nishimura-Macholtz was fading away, its place in the sky was taken by another comet, the periodic comet 19/P Borrelly.

My first view of comet Borrelly was in early September when it was a 10.7 magnitude object with a 3', well condensed coma. On September 15 and 16, the comet passed between M42 and the Horsehead nebula, making an interesting sight and a challenging photographic target.

After passing the Horsehead, the comet brightened steadily, but unfortunately for southern observers, began to move rapidly northwards. My final observation was in early November, when it had brightened to around magnitude 8.4 and had a 6' coma. Northern hemisphere observers saw the comet peak at around magnitude 7.8 during early December.

The final comet of the year was comet Macholtz 1994T1. Although not particularly bright, I managed to observe it on a couple of occasions during December as a 10th magnitude object with a small moderately diffuse coma.

1995 started very quietly for comets. The first comet I observed was the faint periodic comet 71P/ Clark.

I observed this comet on 5 occasions between April 25 and June 14. On April 25, it appeared as a magnitude 12.2 object with a very small (1') coma that was moderately diffuse. After that it brightened very slowly and was at magnitude 11.7 on my final observation.

The next comet I observed was very favourable return of the periodic comet 6P/ d'Arrest.

My first observation was on June 27, when the comet was a small, moderately condensed object of magnitude 9.8. From there the comet brightened steadily until it peaked at magnitude 7.3 on August 3. During late August and September, the coma became very large as the comet passed close to the Earth, reaching 14' on September 21. It also became quite diffuse. My final observation was on November 22, when the comet was still an easy object in a 17.5" telescope at magnitude 10.6

As so often happens, a drought of comets is broken by a flood, with the second half of 1995 bringing a number of comet discoveries that were suitable for visual observation. While comet d'Arrest was visible, several other comets put in an appearance. Of these 2 were comet Bradfield 1995 Q1, and the periodic comet 122P/ de Vico. Although both comets were bright, they were both poorly placed for southern hemisphere observers. I managed to observe comet Bradfield on 2 occasions in late August, before it disappeared into the evening twilight. On August 20, the comet was magnitude 5.3 in 7 x 50 binoculars. On August 22 in an 8" telescope, the comet was slightly brighter at magnitude 5.2. The coma was only 3' across and well condensed, and a faint 10' tail was visible. Undoubtably it would have been a fine sight were it not very low in the twilight.

Comet de Vico also was much better placed for northern hemisphere observers, and put on a fine display there during October and November. From the southern hemisphere it was briefly visible in the dawn twilight at the beginning of October. I managed to observe it on 3 occasions, October 1 - 3. On each occasion it was around magnitude 5.3, with a moderately condensed 4' coma and a faint, 10' tail.