Great Expectations

Many great expectations are turning into disappointments these days. It only seems logical, that the announced great comet show next month seems to fizzle as well.

 

Comet ATLAS C/2019 Y4 was expected to become a naked eye object next month and some sources even said it might become visible during daylight.

 

Unfortunately comets are very unreliable guys and this one seems to follow the path of many predecessors that did not live up to their promise.

 

I showed the comet to my kids during the night of the 4./5. April and, as I already had my equipment set up, I decided to capture a short sequence, in spite of the bright moon in the sky.

 

Little did I know that the next night this cosmic visitor would start to show signs of disintegration and drop quite considerably in brightness. It still is not certain yet which course the comet will take, but chances are high that it will not become the great show that many of us were hoping for.

 

EXIF

ZWO ASI 1600MM PRO @ Gain139

William Optics Megrez 88 f/5.6

Skywatcher AZ-GTI mount

ZWO ASIair

60 x 10s L

20 x 30s RGB

Done