The observations from the Koyama Astronomical Observatory reported in this paper are precisely the data that are needed to interpret the in situ results from the EPOXI-mission's flyby of the comet. These data are needed both to understand temporal variability in the comet, in order to place the flyby in the right temporal sequence, and to understand the relationship between this particular comet, measured in great detail from the flyby, and the ensemble of all other comets, which are observed only by astronomers like our colleagues at Koyama, Kyoto.
