Data Set Overview : This dataset contains the data on the comet brightness for 17 comets at some period of observation time that allowed to obtain comet light curves and, finally, their rotational properties (period, pole position etc.) that were reported in Samarasinha et al. (2004). The data are taken from the papers where the observers reported their original results. These papers are listed in the ref.cat file. The data set contains only the observations of comet magnitude. The papers that allowed to find the rotation period based on the coma morphology or changes in the production rate of some comet species are not considered. The data are organized as one table for each comet excluding comets 2P/Encke and 49P/Arend-Rigaux for which there are separately the data for optical and infrared data. For comet 2P/Encke there is also a table that represents the measurements of the magnitude of the bare nucleus. The tables also contain heliocentric and geocentric distance and the phase angle for the moment of observations and information about the filters and apertures in which the data were obtained. In some cases the rotational phase is indicated.

Confidence Level Overview : The dataset contains the results of observations and measurements published in various journal papers. These papers are listed in the references. The user is encouraged to consult the published papers for the various caveats and uncertainties in the data.