Enchanted Skies

Comets, etcetera

Comet Panstarrs (imaged at Apache Peak, NM)

Comet Panstarrs and the Sloan Telescope Region near Comet Panstarrs - March 11, 2013

 

Object Information                                            Imaging Details

Comet Panstarrs (C/2011 L4) was the first of the supposed 2013 super comets, and it was the first of the 2013 comets to not live up to expectations. Nonetheless, the comet put on a decent showing for a few days in mid-March

Since the comet was in the western sky, I decided to image it from Apache Peak - home of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Telescope. I went up on March 11th to take some practice shots for a hopeful image two days later with the tail of the comet flowing into a crescent Moon.

The tail was much smaller than hoped, so I didn't go back. Still, I got a decent pic of the comet paired with the 2.5M scope.

Clicking the above image will bring up a higher resolution image with a much larger field of view.

Telescope:

Canon EF 300mm f/4 lens

Camera:
Canon T2i
Filter(s):
 
Misc. Optics:
 
Exposures:
12 x 1/8th second @ iso 1600
Guiding:
Unguided (tripod mount)
Processing:
Images converted to tifs with Photoshop CS5, then aligned on the comet's coma with Nebulosity. The enhanced comet image was then pasted atop one of the subs.

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Enchanted Skies - Astrophotography by Rich Richins (all images copyright, Rich Richins)