Comets Lovejoy and Linear X1 
in the morning sky
March 9, 2014

 

            
 This pair
            of comets was shot in what can be best described as nearly gale
            conditions! Near the end of the Comet Lovejoy set, the wind became
            25 - 35mph in gusts and the telescope was blowing around like
            a big box kite. None the less, most of the Lovejoy data was fine,
            but I had to shut down on the Linear X1 shots, because the stars
            were doing figure 8's in the autoguider.

            
Both comets are
            around 8th magnitude, and actually look very similar. When I
            dialed up Linear after shooting Lovejoy, I had a double take
            to make sure I had actually moved to this other comet! Comet
            Lovejoy however in the processed images yeilds a broader fan
            like tail, and has a richer star field.

            
Comet Lovejoy C/2012 R1

Tracking is on Comet Nucleus!

L = 15 x 2m
RGB = 6m

Select an image size for a larger view:

1290 x 960
            




            
Comet Linear X1

Guided on Stars (Attempted)

RGB = 6m

Select an image size for a larger view:

1290 x 960
            


Lens:  12.5" f/5 Home bult Newtonian
Platform:  Astrophysics AP1200 
Exposure:  See images
Location:  Payson, Arizona
Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing  2/10, Transparency 9/10
Outside Temperature:  40F - Very high winds!
Processing Tools:  Maxim DL, Photoshop CS2
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