This is 6 x 30 second stack from tonight greatly contrast stretched. Modified 300D + Sigma 17-70 lens set at f2.8 + ISO400 mounted on tripod and individual frames aligned using IRIS. Light pollution gradient also removed in IRIS, then I cropped image and converted to B+W. Note the faintest extension of the tail curves up to the SMC in the left hand upper corner. Thats 20 degrees still! Coma estimated as mag 5.1 in binoculars so its still got a bit of life left in it.
Tailwag, try getting up early and looking south around 5am. With the 20x80s you'll have no trouble - look for the line up of LMC, SMC, 47Tuc and Comet from right to left, like in Garyh's photo below.
Tailwag, try getting up early and looking south around 5am. With the 20x80s you'll have no trouble - look for the line up of LMC, SMC, 47Tuc and Comet from right to left, like in Garyh's photo below.
Oop's too late last night was 100% full cloud cover in Sydney and today I woke up at 6.30 am and it was already cloudy and too late. I'll try again tomorrow Btw, erick, I made some neat dew shields for the bins, and today I'm going to investigate purchasing some self adhesive felt to line the inside of them. I made them yesterday but haven't used them yet.
Did anyone make any deep ultrawide shots during the first half of February? There have been some reports of very long tail lengths at that time (i.e 80 degrees). Gordon??
Not me, just the ones I have posted. Playing with the contrast I can see no sign of the tail extending much past the SMC on the 500 sec exposure 9th Feb image posted on my C/McNaught web page. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~loomberah/mcnaught.htm
That would be about my deepest image from around that time...well except for the 24 minute fisheye exposure on the 11th which I hadn't bothered to post as the tail wasn't very bright or obvious. The coma is lost in the murk on the horizon, but even with a ridiculous amount of playing with the contrast, the tail does not really extend beyond the SMC.
Still a great shot gordon!!:thumbs up:
Here`s my last goes at the comet over the weekend. The last few nights have been crystal clear and mcnaught is still visible naked eye, but you have to look real hard!!
1st one is through tv genesis, 5x2min iso 800
2nd 50mm @ f/2.8 300 sec iso 400...(morning shot)
3rd 18mm @ f4 360 sec iso 400
Its still a interesting comet, the tail is always changing though getting faint....I don`t know why I am not seeing more closeup shots?
Cheers Gary
You continue to astound and entertain me with your shots Gary! love the sideways view - looks like its trying to get away!! and the close up well all i can say is ..WOW!
you must have some decent elevation (as well as the dark skies) I am wildly assuming, you horizons dont suffer from the dreaded murk as much as most ppl? - I noticed elevated sites offered the best views at around this time, as most of the low lying lands suffered from the murk/muck unfortunately
..so the question is, are you taking on interstate elevation deprived refugees as boarders? need any fencing or some kind of work around the place?
Terry, i also stretched our shot from the 11th and all that, and couldnt see any tail longer than the obvious 23 d or so tail that gordon imaged, and we saw NE, altho still havent scanned film shots yet, they may need reprinting anyhoo *sigh*
finally starting to go back thru hundreds of shots, converting RAWs ect. had a quick but proper go at the stitched-panorama project of comet on night of 22nd jan, did this one in PS photomerge actions thingy, but mine only allows you do it in 8 bit tiffs, so have to use another program, and get rid of the faulty chip's vertical pin striping with IRIS hopefully oneday.
it was easier to use just 4 individual 10 sec, iso 400, 50mm f1.4 @ 1.4 350D shots, than all 5 to stitch this up.
- tail covers about 40d in the azimuth :-)
may be the only multiple stitched panorama (of solely the tail) out there? LOL!
Did anyone make any deep ultrawide shots during the first half of February? There have been some reports of very long tail lengths at that time (i.e 80 degrees). Gordon??