Comet Lovejoy – No Joy as Prediction Fails

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) on Jan 28, 2015, 03:00 UT.   12x180 sec @ ISO 1600, TV-85 at F/5.6, IDAS-LPS & Lumicon Deep Sky filters, Canon T3 DSLR.
C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) on Jan 28, 2015, 03:00 UT. 12×180 sec @ ISO 1600, TV-85 at F/5.6, IDAS-LPS & Lumicon Deep Sky filters, Canon T3 DSLR.
Comparison with image taken the day before to see what the tail has done in 24 hrs time.
Comparison with image taken the day before to see what the tail has done in 24 hrs time.

My prediction that the tail of Comet Lovejoy would display a structure seen 9 days before the date of this image has failed.  There is no resemblance to the appearance of the comet from 9 days before and the comet actually exhibits features I have not seen before.

Very strong moonlight hindered getting good images.  The moon was just past first quarter and was right below the comet.  I guess I’m lucky to get what I got.  I’m still investigating the rotation aspect of the tail structures and why it appears to take 9 days to complete one revolution.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

10 + 15 =