Craig & Tammy
Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2)
After struggling with some weird stuff in the data we captured on Comet Lovejoy, which lead to processing it about 3 times, Craig and I finally came up with a version that we were happy with. Despite the 75% illuminated waxing gibbous moon and the short amount of integration time, our dark skies allowed us to capture a faint galaxy through the comet tail :-) Not our best image, but considering the problems with the data, we are just glad we have something to share :-D
Discovered by Terry Lovejoy on August 17, 2014 in the constellation Puppis at an apparent magnitude of 15, Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) is a long-period comet that brightened to around 7.4 magnitude by December 2014, making it a good target for small telescopes and binoculars. By mid-December, the comet was visible to the naked eye, under dark skies for experienced observers with keen vision, and passed 1/3 degree from the globular cluster Messier 79. In January 2015 it will brighten to around a 4th or 5th magnitude and will be one of the brightest dark sky objects in years. On January 7, 2015, this comet will pass 43,600,000 miles (70,200,000 kilometers or 0.469 astronomical units) from Earth, then cross the celestial equator on January 9, 2015, making it better to be seen from the Northern Hemisphere. It will reach its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) on January 30, 2015 at a distance of 120,000,000 miles (193,000,000 kilometers or 1.29 astronomical units) from the Sun.
On the night of December 30, 2014, when we captured this image of Comet Lovejoy, it was located in the constellation Lepus, the rabbit, and shined at a 5.36 apparent magnitude. Although it was a relatively short amount of integration time, and despite a waxing gibbous moon that was 75% illuminated, our dark skies allowed us to capture the faint galaxy (apparent magnitude = 13.59) designated PGC16892 through the comet tail.
Telescope: Stellarvue SV80S Apo @ f/6
Accessories: Stellarvue SFF6-21 flattener; Dew control by Dew Buster; Alnitak Flat-Man
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: QSI683wsg-8 CCD @ -25C
Guiding: Starlight Xpress Lodestar via PHD
Filters: Astrodon E-Series Gen II LRGB filters
Exposure: 15 x 60sec. binned 1x1 Luminance; 15 x 30sec. binned 2x2 in each R, G, & B
Acquisition: ImagesPlus 5.0 Camera Control
Processing: PixInsight 1.8
Date(s): December 30, 2014
SQM reading (begin - end): 16.47 – 18.33
Temperature (begin - end): 26.8ºF – 25.3ºF
Capture conditions: transparency = Average 3/5, seeing = Poor 2/5
Location: Portland, TN, USA
Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2)
After struggling with some weird stuff in the data we captured on Comet Lovejoy, which lead to processing it about 3 times, Craig and I finally came up with a version that we were happy with. Despite the 75% illuminated waxing gibbous moon and the short amount of integration time, our dark skies allowed us to capture a faint galaxy through the comet tail :-) Not our best image, but considering the problems with the data, we are just glad we have something to share :-D
Discovered by Terry Lovejoy on August 17, 2014 in the constellation Puppis at an apparent magnitude of 15, Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) is a long-period comet that brightened to around 7.4 magnitude by December 2014, making it a good target for small telescopes and binoculars. By mid-December, the comet was visible to the naked eye, under dark skies for experienced observers with keen vision, and passed 1/3 degree from the globular cluster Messier 79. In January 2015 it will brighten to around a 4th or 5th magnitude and will be one of the brightest dark sky objects in years. On January 7, 2015, this comet will pass 43,600,000 miles (70,200,000 kilometers or 0.469 astronomical units) from Earth, then cross the celestial equator on January 9, 2015, making it better to be seen from the Northern Hemisphere. It will reach its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) on January 30, 2015 at a distance of 120,000,000 miles (193,000,000 kilometers or 1.29 astronomical units) from the Sun.
On the night of December 30, 2014, when we captured this image of Comet Lovejoy, it was located in the constellation Lepus, the rabbit, and shined at a 5.36 apparent magnitude. Although it was a relatively short amount of integration time, and despite a waxing gibbous moon that was 75% illuminated, our dark skies allowed us to capture the faint galaxy (apparent magnitude = 13.59) designated PGC16892 through the comet tail.
Telescope: Stellarvue SV80S Apo @ f/6
Accessories: Stellarvue SFF6-21 flattener; Dew control by Dew Buster; Alnitak Flat-Man
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: QSI683wsg-8 CCD @ -25C
Guiding: Starlight Xpress Lodestar via PHD
Filters: Astrodon E-Series Gen II LRGB filters
Exposure: 15 x 60sec. binned 1x1 Luminance; 15 x 30sec. binned 2x2 in each R, G, & B
Acquisition: ImagesPlus 5.0 Camera Control
Processing: PixInsight 1.8
Date(s): December 30, 2014
SQM reading (begin - end): 16.47 – 18.33
Temperature (begin - end): 26.8ºF – 25.3ºF
Capture conditions: transparency = Average 3/5, seeing = Poor 2/5
Location: Portland, TN, USA