Comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon)

[cometcatcher]

Just a heads up for those of you with better skies than here in Mackay. I am having trouble shooting through thick haze, so those with clear skies should get much better pics. Even the Sun is dim today.

This is Comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon). Not sure of the magnitude, maybe 10+, maybe brighter, hard to tell through this crud. It moves into very interesting skies over the next few weeks, crossing through Crux. Should make for some very interesting pics!

This pic through haze and cloud, taken with a Pentax K-x, 2+3 min exposures at ISO 800, Skywatcher 120mm F5 achro refractor, Baader Semi-APO filter. Satellite trail on the right.

[MortonH]

Looks like a hard one visually!

[cometcatcher]

I never had chance to actually try for it visually before the clouds covered it. Probably an easy target for an 8 inch or larger scope. According to http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/ it's going to brighten rapidly.

[MortonH]

Thanks for the link. Looks like I might have a chance with this one.

[mithrandir]

Based on the orbital elements both Stellarium and CdC say about mag 14.6. That's not a good combination with Sydney light pollution.

[MortonH]

BAA Comet Section says 11.5 visual and brightening.

[stardust steve]

great effort. Looks like a tough nut at this stage. I might have a go Saturday night all going well. . .

[Ross G]

Great capture Kevin.


Ross.

[cometcatcher]

Finally got a sky with good transparency, however it was 7/8 cloud. Better pics this time showing some colour.

6 minutes total time at ISO 800, Kson ED80 at F5.5. I'm guessing it's around magnitude 10 to 11.

[Larryp]

Nice work, Kevin! That would be very difficult to pick up.

[Paul Camilleri]

I was able to visually observe the comet this morning as a diffuse comet magnitude was 9.8, through my 16" F/4.5 Dob

Paul Camilleri
New Castle NSW

[cometcatcher]

That's great Paul. Sounds like it's getting a little brighter then. The BAA comet section puts it around mag 10.

The sky here is very hazy again. If I try shooting it in this murk it will come out like magnitude 15.

[cometcatcher]

Got some dark and fairly transparent sky tonight. Still unable to see it visually in the 5 inch but it images pretty well. Maybe my eyes are tired.

Skywatcher 120mm F5 achro, Pentax K-x, 4 x 2 minutes at ISO 1600. Thank heavens for goto. Saves a lot of mucking about with something I can't see!

[Mick]

Nice work CC :thumbsup:

[TheAstroChannel]

Very nice pictures! Im waiting for Comet (PANSTARRS) to come into view! :)

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Mick.



Me too. Looks like I will have to wait until the second week in January before it gets high enough to image from my location.

[carl37]

I was able to observe this comet last night (~12:30am) in Melbourne's suburban light polluted skies. Transparency was good but seeing not so much due to the high temperature.

It was fairly large and diffuse, but easy enough to pick up with a 10" dob even though it was only about about 15 degrees in altitude and the moon was about to rise. It would have been a very easy target in dark skies.

I would give you a magnitude estimate, but I'm just a noob and wouldn't have a clue how to do that!! :question:

[cometcatcher]

I find comet mag estimates tricky also due to their fuzziness.

[Curt]

I was observing the comet on Friday. I didn't realize how bright it was. Easy to find too. I wanted to track it all week to see how fast it's moving but the cloud gods have interrupted my plans again. It's funny how a fuzzy ball can get you all excited.

[nandopg]

Hi Kevin,
Amazing images. I am located in Brazil and had a good sky yesterday (01-05) until 11:00 pm. Based on your information, I prepared my equipament to image this comet but guess what, around 00:00 very thick clouds came and completely closed the sky. But I will try again as soon as I have a good condition.

Thank you for the images and all the info,

Fernando

[cometcatcher]

Hope the clouds clear for you soon Fernando.

[astronobob]

Interesting going's on CC, Capturing some great colour there aswell :thumbsup:

[Shark Bait]

I was lucky enough to be able to visit dark skies last night and tracked this comet down at 1am EST this morning. I was keen to observe Linear C/2012 K5 and Panstarrs C/2011 L4 as well Lemmon C/2012 F6.

Out of the three comets, Lemmon C/2012 F6 was the easiest to find. It was fairly bright compared to the stars in the same FOV, but I found it hard to estimate the magnitude. It was definetely brighter than the Mag 12.46 that Starry Night has it listed as.

I did not notice any tail, rather a diffuse haze surrounding the slightly brighter nucleus.

Thanks for the photos. They helped with knowing what to look for.