Comet 240P Neat passes the Pleiades
in the evening sky
2/9/26

 

            
A somewhat close passage
            of this faint comet to the bright star cluster M45 in Taurus
            made for a challenging photo opportunity. Two sets were taken,
            one with the RASA 11 inch for close ups, and the second a Samyang
            135mm f/2 context camera trained on the same field, but providing
            5x the coverage. The first frame is with stars and it is hard
            to find the faint 16th magnitude comet. By removing the stars
            with an AI software, we see the second frame makes the full extent
            of the comets tail now visible.

            
The final third image
            is with the Samyang context camera, showing the full area around
            the comet and cluster in rich detail.

            


            -Date/Time Local: 02/09/26 7:30pm MST

            -Date/Time UT: 02/10/26 2:30 UT

            -FOV: 200' x 134'

            -Orientation: N up

            -Seeing: 10

            -Transparency: 8

            -Orig. Scale: 1.2 arcsec/Pixel

            -Instrument: RASA 11 f/2.2

            -Exposure: 45 min total

            -Camera: ASI6200MM + UV/IR + Baader RGB

            -Location: Happy Jack,AZ

            
Select an image size for a larger view:

1400 x 1200
            

            
Select an image size for a larger view:

1400 x 1200
            

            
Select an image size for a larger view:

1400 x 1200
            


Lens:  11" f/2.2 RASA Schmidt
Platform:  Home Made GEM
Exposure:  30 mins
Location:  Happy Jack, Arizona
Elevation:  7000 ft.
Sky:  Seeing  10/10, Transparency 7/10
Outside Temperature:  35F
Processing Tools:  Maxim DL, Photoshop CS2
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