209P LINEAR motoring south

[bkm2304]

Hi all,

Here are two quick shots of comet 209P LINEAR currently in Leo, but headin' south. It is motoring along at 9 Deg per day south. These two pics are only 7 minutes apart.

Very condensed nucleus and nice elegant tail.

Over to the left is edge on spiral galaxy, NGC 3279 (Mag 13.4) with spiral galaxy PGC 31241 at Mag 14.5 at about 11 o'clock near the top edge of the pic.

Pics are 30 secs with Nikon D7000 on a GSO 10" F4.

Richard.

[cometcatcher]

Nice shots! I think this is the fastest moving comet I've seen.

[bkm2304]

Yeah, sure is quick! Its appearance belies its great speed relative to Earth. Sky Safari Pro has it at 0.058 AU or 8.7 million Km from us - very, very close by cometary standards, hence the quick clip at the moment.

Richard