A stack of 5 images helps bring out the tail better. I calibrated and processed these in IRIS with some dark data taken right after the imaging session.
Close-up of Comet Pantarrs, March 12, 2013
Category Archives: Comets
Comet Panstarrs & The Moon – March 12th, 2013
Possibly the most photogenic part of Comet Panstarrs apparition occurred on March 12, 2013 and luckily, I had clear weather. I took a number of images, all with a Canon 200mm at F/2.8, a Canon XS (modified) and my little CG3 mount and a laptop. This particular image is a 2 second exposure at ISO 800.
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Comet Panstarrs & The Moon 2
I shot this at the start of the session, before the comet and the moon sank too deep into the murk. This is a one second exposure at ISO 200, Canon 200mm lens at F/2.8. Lots of twilight still, but dark enough to show a good portion of the comet’s tail.
C/2011 L4 (Panstarrs)
This is 10×4 sec ISO 400 sub-images stacked in IRIS. I had a feeling it would be difficult to process and it was. But, I managed to get this final image regardless.
Comet Panstarrs on March 11th, 2013
Here’s one of the first images from the batch of images I shot of Comet Panstarrs on March 11, 2013. I used a 200mm F/2.8 Canon lens with a Sigma 2X Teleconverter, for 400mm of focal length at F/5.6. This was a 1 second exposure @ ISO 400. The camera was riding on an old German Equatorial mount (a CG3 clone) with a clock drive.
Comet Panstarrs with a 2 second exposure @ ISO 400, Canon 200mm F/2.8 w/Sigma 2X Teleconverter, Canon XS (modified) DSLR.
Here’s one of the last shots before the comet sank into the murk. I couldn’t even see it anymore with the binoculars, but the camera picked it up with a 10 second exposure.
Comet 168P/Hergenrother
Comet 168P/Hergenrother on November 5th, 2012. Taken with an 8″ F/4 Newtonian and a modified Canon T3 DSLR.
Comet Garrad, March 24th, 2012
An image of Comet Garrad generated from 40×180 sec @ ISO 1600 sub-exposures. These were taken with a TV-85 at F/5.6 and a Canon T3 DSLR camera.
Comet Hartley 2
NASA liked this image. It’s being used in an article about possible meteors from Hartley. Check it out:
science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa /2010/27oct_…
This image also appears in “Serene Universe – An Inner Voyage Into Outer Space.”
Comet Hartley 2 and the Double Cluster
Comet Hartley 2 and the Perseus Double Cluster on Oct 8th, 2010, 11:00 UT. North is down.
Televue TV-85 at F/5.6 w/0.8x FR/FF
Hutech Canon XS w/IDAS-LPS-V2 drop-in
Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD
Orion Starshoot Autoguider w/PHD Guiding.
60×60 sec @ ISO 1600
147×120 sec @ ISO 1600.
Calibration and processing with IRIS. Post-processing with PS, Noel Carboni’s Astronomy Tools, Graident XTerminator and Neat Image.
Comet Hartley 2 Encounters the Pacman Nebula
On the night of October 1st/2nd, 2010, Comet Hartley 2 made a close approach to the Pacman Nebula. I was fortunate to have great weather and devoted my whole night to imaging the get together.
Technical: 286 minutes of exposure (44×60 sec, 34×120 sec & 58×180 sec @ ISO 1600,) TV-85 at F/5.6, IDAS-LPS, Hutech Canon XS. (This image was also used in an online article at Sky and Telescope’s website, which is here: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/102632669.html )