Now a dim 7th magnitude, comet IZ is getting close to approaching the point on the 26th (Full moon unfortunately) that the Earth will pass into the comets orbital plane. As such a time nears, the possibility of viewing an "Anti-tail" exists. The image above is starting to show this anti tail as a blue sunward tail pointing westward - about 4 o'clock in this image. The opportunity to record such a rare event will only exist for a few more days as the moon passes into the evening sky.

Instrument:  5.5" f/1.65 Celestron Schmidt Camera
Platform:  Astrophysics 1200 QMD
Film:  E200 
CCD Autoguider: ST-4
Exposure:  10 mins
Filters:  None
Location:  Payson, Arizona
Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing 5/10, Transparency 8/10
Outside Temperature:  20 C
Processing:  Photoshop

HOME   GALAXIES     EMISSION NEBS     REFLECTION NEBS   COMETS     GLOBULARS     OPEN CLUST     PLANETARIES     LINKS