Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - images

[iceman]

Here's the first picture I've seen of it (without looking for pictures of it :whistle: )

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2007/04jan07/Dahle.jpg

on www.spaceweather.com


For discussion on the comet: thread here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=16086)

For maps, viewing guides etc: thread here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=16334)

[CometGuy]

Mike,

Try this link for updated images:

http://kometen.fg-vds.de/pix/2006P1_e.htm

Note especially the January 3 image :). Michael Jaeger who made that image said he drove 5 hours to find a clear sky to get that shot!

Terry

[iceman]

Great images! Thanks Terry.

[glenc]

Comet McNaught Heads for the Sun
Credit & Copyright: Michael Jager and Gerald Rhemann (http://www.astrostudio.at/Astrofotos/fotografen.php) Explanation: Early morning risers with a clear and unobstructed eastern horizon can enjoy the sight of Comet McNaught (http://spaceweather.com/images2007/05jan07/skymap_north.gif) (C/2006 P1) in dawn skies over the next few days. Discovered in August by R. H. McNaught (Siding Spring Survey (http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/%7Ermn/)) the comet has grown bright enough to see with the unaided eye but will soon be lost in the glare of the Sun. Still, by January 11 sun-staring spacecraft SOHO should be able to offer web-based views (http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/c3/512/) as the comet heads toward (http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db_shm?name=c/2006+P1) a perihelion (http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/physical_science/physics/mechanics/orbit/perihelion_aphelion.html&edu=high) passage inside the orbit of Mercury. This image captures (http://www.astrostudio.at/Astrofotos/astrofotos.php?k_id=71) the new naked-eye comet (http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/comet_worldbook.html) at about 2nd magnitude (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude) in twilight skies near sunset on January 3rd. After rounding the Sun and emerging from the solar glare later this month, Comet McNaught (http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2006P1/2006P1.html) could be even brighter.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0701/c2006p1_rhemann_mid.jpg

[CometGuy]

Scott,

I remember very clearly my first post perihelion view of Halley very low in the east. It was about the same angular distance from the sun as McNaught is now and I made it around mag 2.3 or so. A very beautiful sight seeing the bright yellow coma and dust tail against the blue twilight. However Comet McNaught is even brighter :)

Just noticed a wider angle shot from Austria has just been posted:

http://www.kometarium.com/images/2006p1_0501_100mm.jpg

In the image to the left (above the 'D' in 300D) is star Gamma Aquila which is magnitude 3.4. Note how much brighter the comet is despite being lower and deeper in twilight! It is currently being estimated around magnitude 1.5 by a number of people.

I wouldn't be suprised if you succeed in a daylight observation within a few days, especially if you could see Mars. Remember the coma will not be as concentrated as the disk of Mars just yet (Mars is 4" diameter, the comet is 1' across). But the coma is brightening and becoming more concentrated.

Terry

[CometGuy]

With a week to go to perihelion, latest observations indicate the coma has brightened to magnitude 1.0 :) I also notice a few naked eye observations starting to be reported. Have a look at the comet's development in the space of 2 days:

http://www.astrostudio.at/Astrofotos/astrofotos.php?k_id=71

The next few days are going to be interesting as the solar elongation only drops slightly but the brightness increases to perhaps mag 0 or -1. Once the moon is clear of the evening there is chance we may see reports of a tail extending out into the evening sky from high northern latitudes.

Terry

[jjjnettie]

Cut and pasted from the Irish Astronomy Forum.

5 Jan 2007: Comet McNaught C/2006 P1 is a bright but very low object at both dusk and dawn. Appears rather like Mercury with a tail, about 1st magnitude. Photo by J.O'Neill with a 200mm lens (5th Jan 2007 at 17.17 UT). The comet is now near 3.4 mag Lambda Aquilae which is too faint to appear in the photo.

[dcnicholls]

Very nice images from Norway:

http://folk.uio.no/hdahle/McNaught_Jan5_stack_small.gif
and
http://folk.uio.no/hdahle/C2006P1.html

DN

[CometGuy]

Just successfully managed to photograph the comet from Brisbane just after noon using a Takahashi E160 + Canon 350D. The attached image is 34 x 1/1250 sec exposures at ISO100. Its not, much I have a lot more images to process and I have not properly calibrated the images yet. I'll have a better feel for the brightness once processing is done tonight, but I am confident the brightness is around mag 0.

Terry

[fringe_dweller]

well done Terry! :thumbsup:

[glenc]

Amazing work Terry. I look forward to the processed image.

[CometGuy]

Here is the full processed version. Note the sunward extension from the coma (the actual tail is not visible). I measured mag 0.3, but then its likely not all the coma is visible.

Scott, this was a tough processing challenge! I made 5 sets of 17 second exposures. I was able to acquire 17 exposures in well under a minute and so didn't need to register them (my drive is good enough to achieve this). The comet was easily visible on a 17 second stack. After ending up with 5 images (each consisting of 17 exposures) I was able to register on the comet and stack these to get the final image. Actually there were 18 frames in the 5th set so all up this is a 86 x 0.0008 second stack!

Also I do not have a goto drive and rely on manual setting circles, all adding to the challenge :).

The comet has been brightening very rapidly, it is a lot brighter than it was yesterday. Its not suprising you didn't succeed the other day.

Terry

[jjjnettie]

I was wondering who was going to capture the first image.
Congratulations Terry!

[iceman]

Just found this incredible image from the incredible Stefan Seip from Germany.

It's on his homepage, under the Comets section.
http://www.photomeeting.de/astromeeting/_index.htm

[tornado33]

Gotcha!
Heres the comet at 3:30pm today.
Taken in IR 800nm and longer light
2x 1/90th sec,ISO 100 , IR pass filter, modded 350D, heavily contrast stretched. I know for a fact its the comet as its the only thing that had moved (the 2 shots taken without drive on about 2 secs apart) I manually aligned the 2 images with Photoshop.
10inch f5.6 newtonian.
It HAS brightened as I didnt expect to get it as sky was VERY bright due to haze from strong southerly and low cloud.
Its gonna be a ripper of a comet
Scott

[Outbackmanyep]

PS....this is how i imagined it to be like....
http://digilander.libero.it/infosis/homepage/astronomia/c2006p1.htm

A fellow from the yahoo groups sent a link to view....looks awesome!

[iceman]

nice one Scott, though you could use a flat field :P

[anthony.tony]

Go to Spaceweather.com and you will see some images posted by alan dyer from Canada. Tony

[CometGuy]

Well done Scott, even the slightest bit of haze can make this observation very much harder.

I've just started going through my images today, conditions were not ideal with thin cirrus and haze but I still managed to find of few images nearly clear of cloud and wow has the comet brightened in just 24 hours. Please Keep in mind yesterday's image was 86 x 0.0008 seconds whereas the attached image, made in hazier conditions was just 4 x 0.0008 seconds. Some approximate photometry places the comet between mag -0.5 to -1! I have plenty more images to go through tonight so hopefully I'll get a better final image.

Its meant to be clearing on Wednesday here but I am not sure if I can get much closer to the sun as light is starting to enter the tube. I might have to extend the dew shield even further!

[anthony.tony]

These are some pics taken by Alan dyer in canada.From his home in Alberta Latitude 50 degrees North.Taken in Twilight. this shows you how bright it is.Canon 20D .:eyepop: tony They were taken on the 6th and 7th of Jan.

[jjjnettie]

These 2 are from Patrick Boomer in Canada.
Every day it's getting better and better.

[CometGuy]

OK I just finished processing the image for today, this is the best 52 images stacked using the 350D set at ISO 100 and each exposure 1/1250 sec + Takahashi E160 astrograph (with a 40cm long dew shield to keep sunlight at bay). As you can see obvious brightening from yesterday and the beginning of the tail is now visible. Brightness is conservatively mag -0.5 from comparision with Venus. Nearly missed the comet as it was at the top edge of the field (my RA setting circle is pretty crude!).

Terry

[dcnicholls]

Brilliant work, Terry!

DN

[iceman]

Post images/pictures of 2006/P1 here.

If they're someone else's images, be sure to include credit and/or link to original source.

[iceman]

Hi all

Even though I merged 2 threads the other day, I think Glen is right in having separate threads because otherwise the 1 thread will get very large, and people will keep posting "how do I find it" because the thread is too big to find the maps etc.

So i've created 3 threads, please try and keep your posts to the appropriate thread. I may move posts from time to time to keep them on-topic for the thread title.

I've made all the threads sticky, so you'll find them in the top section of the thread listing.

Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - maps and viewing guides (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=16334)

Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - images (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=16333) (this thread)

Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - discussions (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=16086)

Thanks!

[tornado33]

I got another daytime image thisafternoon. Its a stack of 8 images in 800nm infra red light.

I used Terry's idia of having the drive running and taking a quick sucession of images so aligning wont be necessary, and just added them in IRIS

8x 1/125sec, ISO 100, Modded 350D, 10 inch F5.6 newtonian, taken at 3:09 pm today.

Note. Its brightened to the point it is just visible on each individual image. Sadly , seeing wasnt that good though.

As can see, no flatfielding done, I guess I should make that effort next time.

Scott

[h0ughy]

nice planetary dust moates scott! top stuff

[iceman]

Excellent Scott, I can see the tail clearly now!

[Orion]

It's getting there Scott!

[tornado33]

Here is my first white light image, taken at 4pm today with modded 350D and no filter at all.
5x1/3000th sec ISO 100. 10 inch f5.6, Argo Navis pointing. This time I took a flat field by moving the scope enough to have comet out of the field, hoping the change of lighting wont be too different to make the flat field useless.

I tried to see the comet visually, with a number of eyepieces, but to no avail, again sky bright with haze.
Scott

[avandonk]

Amazing result Scott. You are a braver man than me pointing an optic close to the Sun during the day. Do you think the comet would show through a solar filter if the exposure was about right?

bert

[venus]

Great work Scott!

[tornado33]

Hi Bert
Thanks.
It may well do so, the filter would have to be perfectly light tight. The other day I tried to get Mercury with solar filter on, but light leakage (not from the sun but light coming in from the side) ruined it.

Not much sun falls on the mirror so far, but the comet is closing on the sun and I will be careful. The closest ive been to the sun without a filter was imaging Venus 3 days before the Transit. That day, the sun was focussilg to a point 1/2 way between the secondary and the tube (yes I was VERY careful that day)
Scott
PS, thanks venus too

[tornado33]

I re-processed the image, silly me I didnt stack them all.
This one is definately all 5 stacked. At first there was some misalingment as the tracking wasnt 100% between the images, but each shot had the comet bright enough for Iris to align them.
With the better contrast there may be some inner detail in the tail.
Scott

[avandonk]

Thanks Scott. Your image is just showing the shadow of the neucleus in the tail! Fantastic!

Bert

[tornado33]

Hi
After seeing it visually for the first time, in daylight, I did 2 images
1 in white light unfiltered
15x 1/4000thsec ISO 100 taken at 12:15pm

the other is in infra red light 10x180th sec ISO 100 at 12:36pm
both taken with 10 inch f5;6 scope, modded 350D camera

Tail is now evident, gee its brightening FAST!
100% perfect flatfielding noit possiblt as even moving the scope a small distance to do flatfields changed the lighting due to sunlight reflections hence the other artifacts

Scott

[iceman]

Unreal Scott, amazing images in daylight!

/me tips my hat to you sir!

[RB]

Fantastic Scott !
Amazing for daylight imaging.

[tornado33]

Many thanks :) yes its an exciting object for sure
Heres a mapped colour image.

The blue channel was deleted. here blue represents green, green represents red and red represents infra red.
The comet itself appears white and an even shade of white all over.
Scott

[CometGuy]

Good on you Scott! Lots of Daylight observations coming in now.

3rd day of cloud here :mad2:

Terry

[tornado33]

Thanks
Lets hope it clears for everyone for the great perihelion show.
I dont know if its me, but despite the sky now being brighter as the comet sinks into the west, it almost seems as if it has brightened in just the few hours I have been observing it.
Scott

[Orion]

Your pics are getting better Scott, and so is the comet.:thumbsup:

[tornado33]

Thanks
cant wait till tomorrow, but I think Sat and Sun. will be fantastic.
Scott

[tornado33]

I thought Id take the opportunity to show my rig pointing at the comet, showing how much offset from the Sun it is. Part of the primary has sunlight on it, but harmlessly reflected to the lower part of the tube. Note hankie stuffed in finder dew tube to stop crosshairs melting (I did that years ago on another scope when solar viewing)

The hardest part about viewing and imaging the comet in the daytime was the hot sun, was sweating away while looking and imaging, but I didnt care hehehe. It will be well over 30 degrees tomorrow but will still be at it :)

I also have both the (plastic) main drive and encoder gear wheels covered as they are susceptable to sun damage from UV light.
Scott

[iceman]

Wow, that's scary close! Exceptional stuff Scott.
You should submit them to spaceweather - they just published Sean Walkers' daytime image.

[Merlin66]

Don't try to observe so close to the sun with a SCT or refractor, you'll cook either the tube/ baffle or optics!!!!
It's dangerous enough with a Newt, but at least the return beam focusses in free air at the side of the secondary.
If yoy want to do such observing, make up a wide baffle plate which can be held with dowels etc well in front and slightly to the sun side of the telescope and double check NO sunlight is reflecting into the tube before going any further.
Guys, this is very dangerous stuff.....CAUTION

[vespine]

I'm not sure if I think you are really brave or really insane! I wouldn't try it. Who dares wins right?? :)

[tornado33]

Hi all
Sky conditions not as good as yesterday, as it was brighter, more haze today, however the comets seeming increasing brightness made it look similar to yesterday.

Image taken lot long ago,just after local noon, cropped centre from bigger original but with lots of artifacts from sunglare reflecting around.
As before 15x1/4000th sec ISO 100, however this time I put on the uv/ir filter I normally use for astrophotography hoping it might cut down some uv glare.
Scott

[h0ughy]

Ah I take it you have met our Scotty!!!

[Striker]

some great images Terry.

[CometGuy]

Very hazy today with high cloud so unfortunately no chance of viewing the comet visually (I did try), still it showed up clearly with the 350D + 16cm reflector. Here is a rough processed 8 x 1/2000 second ISO100 image (mottled background is caused by passing cloud). Its certainly brightened a lot since I last imaged it on January 8, but its still fainter than Venus and I measured mag -3.0 from my images.

Terry

[iceman]

Great images Scott and Terry! You guys are amazing.

I can't wait to see what you produce next week.

[tornado33]

With the comet past the meridian and my tube on the other side of the german equatorial mount, there is less reflected light entering the focusser, so I took another set of 10 images as before, only this time I removed the uv/ir filter so its "full spectrum" near IR through visible light with the modded 350D
This is a full res. crop.

Ironically on the full image I was left with a negative comet at the top as when doing the flatfield (skyflat) I didnt quite move the comet out of frame.

Gee when I first got into astro imaging Id be happy to get a NIGHTTIME image of a comet this bright.

2nd image is a upsampled close up of the central condensation,

Scott

PS, Terry I note you were doing 2000th sec images, your skies must be darker, free of haze? 2000th sec @f5.6 were overexposed here.

[CometGuy]

Scott,

First of all I love your last shots! You could just about pass them off as nighttime shots :)

My camera is unmodified, also I expose well to the 'right' (1.5 stops) when viewed in infraviewer they look white and overexposed. My scope is f3.3 but with a largish secondary.

The sky transparency was pretty poor today, about 50% brighter than on Sunday or Monday. It is very muggy here (and there are storms developing to the west).

Terry

[dcnicholls]

Not sure if this has been mentioned on IIS yet, but SOHO is now showing the comet:
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-c3.html
and
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/hotshots/

DN

[tornado33]

Thanks
Yes Ive been exposing just slightly to the right on the camera histogram, which works out at 1/4000th sec at ISO 100
The transparency today was poorer today too, Id say about 50% brighter too, and by 5pm had got so bad I could no longer see the comet, mind you its now closer to the sun and as mentioned is now in the SOHO field of view.
Scott

[CometGuy]

I 've added a more natural view of todays image on my webpage:

http://www.pbase.com/image/72958569

There is also a collage of enhanced images from Jan 7-12 here"

http://www.pbase.com/terrylovejoy/image/72716955

Terry

[tornado33]

Excellent Terry, yes the natural image truly shows what it looks like through a telescope.

At its best at about 1pm today, this best approximates what I saw visually with my low power eyepiece (25mm)
Scott

[spacezebra]

This is an excellent selection of images of the comet - keep them coming - we have had nothing but cloud here and cannot see a thing.

Cheers Petra

[anthony.tony]

This shot taken by Alan Dyer.Jan. 11th at 5.40pm Alberta Time.This pic was taken just east of Calgary Canada.He used a 200mm Lens.The temperature was -20 Degrees C.If it is like this in daylight it must be the comet of the Century. Tony

[jjjnettie]

Here he is from space.

http://ares.nrl.navy.mil/sungrazer/images/hi1b_comet.jpg

[CometGuy]

Anyone who was around Brisbane today would realise how poor transparency was. But regardless I succeeded in seeing the comet visually around 2:30pm onwards. Quite easy to see and about mag -4, see sketch here:

http://www.pbase.com/image/72985650

The 2 points that were noteworthy was how tiny and intense the central condensation was (much smaller and more intense than Venus). Also the pale yellow colour.

I had to build a tube extension about 70cm long to prevent sunlight entering scope tube.

Terry

[tornado33]

Yes thats pretty much what Ive been seeing with my scope.
Didnt get a chance to image today, it was only visible (through thin cloud) for a short time before it closed right over.
Scott

[jakob]

Just come across this nice picture
http://www.astrotreff.de/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=51814

[maksutover]

Hey guys
I dont know if you have checked it out yet but the astro pic of the day site has a beauty captured with a normal digi camera! good news for people like me who dont have SLRs!

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

[gaa_ian]

Very nice shot from Germany with the comet still visible as the sun is setting

[Astroman]

Getting better, I had a go at imaging it today at 12pm, 8" f6 toucam unmodded.

WOW this thing is bright.

[tornado33]

Hi all
heres todays images, taken from 10 am!

First is with uv/ir filter
2nd is though Baader UHCS filter
3rd is Baader narrowband O3
4th is Baader 7Nm Ha filter
Modded 350D camera, 10 inch f5.6 Newtonian
Scott

[Astroman]

anyone got a swan filter to try out on it?

Scott do you think the UHC filter works for daytime on the comet?

[avandonk]

Great images Scott and Terry and others. I tried today but to much smoke and haze. I put a 58mm Hutech LPR filter on the small hole on the endcap of the 100ED. This was mounted on an extension to the dewcap of the 100ED.

The good thing about this is that IR is blocked by the LPR filter so minimises cooking of expensive bits. Even when I inadvertently got directly onto the Sun no problems and could see quite a bright image of the blue hazy sky and clouds in the 5DH viewfinder.

Thanks for all the daylight images. My mind is still trying to get used to the idea of imaging comets during the day.

I suppose next it will be super nova during the day (if we get one bright enough).

Bert

[CometGuy]

Despite cloud/haze all day the comet was visible on 2 occassions including the grand finale at sunset (and photographically on 2 other occassions). I did not get to see the comet after sunset as cloud interfered but it was plainly visible in 15x70 binoculars about 15-30 minutes before even though it was shining through distant high cloud that was illuminated by the sun! I could never imagine seeing a comet under such conditions, but there it was tail and all!

Anyway, I quickly made a handheld shot with 200mm lens and 350D showing the sun and comet in the same field. I had to wind contrast up a lot to make the comet visible due to all the high cloud. Sorry its not much but at least it shows the comet (just):

http://www.pbase.com/image/73035792

Terry

[gaa_ian]

Any more Images, after the Sun has set ?
Already one in a separate thread !
Plus the one here from Terry (good effort Terry)
Come on, we need some shots for spaceweather, so we can show our northern hemisphere cousins just how good Mcnaught is "down Under" ;)
I want to see them too, all cloud & rain here in the tropics :sadeyes:

[andrew]

Just took this one less than an hour ago: Click here (http://www.luke-hamilton.com/andrewf1/Pics/IMG_0602(g)_filtered-re.jpg) 242kb

Amazing sight tonight, something really special :)

[maksutover]

I was soo excited about this evening and look how it turned out! :(
like i said before, sydney sux!!!

Did anyone from NSW have any luck???

Im just praying really hard so tomorrow will not copy todays disappointment!

[h0ughy]

well we had very very testing condition in Newcastle, including a fire that started just before sunset. here are the canon shots with 200mm first then the pentax *istDS with 50-500mm lens. Ok last two show the comet, but I suppost it was a spectacular but annoying backdrop

[Orion]

That last shot came out alright.:thumbsup:I wonder how Scotts turned out.

[rat156]

Here's three of mine from Werribee, cloud blocked the lower 10 deg of sky though. Last one is widefield to give a sense of scale.


http://tinyurl.com/yckoxr
http://tinyurl.com/ynx3qv
http://tinyurl.com/ygtjul

Cheers
Stuart

[alan meehan]

good photo stuart,lovely clear shot.houghy your sunsets look like mine

[blueskies123_89]

Caught the comet just before it entered the clouds at 8:44 (right at sunset). The sky was very bright but the tail is clearly visible.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/356799517_e9115f72b5.jpg?v=0

Stack of 5 Images with Canon EOS 400D 300mm ISO400

[RB]

I just beat the cloud !
My one and only shot.

:(

[maksutover]

Hey rocket boy that pictures pritty cool :)
Im soo jealous of everyone who managed to beat the clouds for a quick look.

[jjjnettie]

For a drought ravaged country, we sure have a lot of cloud.

Andrew, I love the range of colours, very dramatic. You were sooo lucky to catch that comet.

[tornado33]

Hi all
Processed my images from today, from Redhead Bluff south of newcastle

Both images are a stack of 3 1250th sec shots in quick sucession through Berts wonderful 300mm f2.8 flourite lens, then aligned on the comet and stacked, processed with Iris.
The other shot was taken earlier today (4:21pm)with the unmodded 300D, its 12x 4000th sec ISO 100 through the 10 inch, processed as above. When looking at the cometthrough the scope it seemed so bright it was almost hurting my eye!

It was magnificent seeing the comet through binocs just as the Sun is setting, sadly cloud killed it later on.
looking fowards to tomorrow night
Scott

[tornado33]

full res. crops of the 300mm f2.8 images
Scott

[tornado33]

Now to really frighten you all.
Look how close to the Sun the comet was today, the 2nd shot I have indicated where the Sun was reflecting back from the primary, on one of the secondary holder vanes inside the tube. I had drive running and never left the scope without covering it first. I was able to safely view, and image the comet.

Not recommended for public viewings though, the public liability would be enormous.
Scott

[CometGuy]

Proof that the comet was visible through cloud during daylight :). 3 x 1/400 sec ISO100 images (200mm f4.5 with 350D). Image from 10 minutes before sunset Jan 14 (greatly stretched)!

[tornado33]

Yes this will go down as the Great Comet of 2007!
Scott

[asterix]

Terry,

I'm just down the road at Victoria Point and could not find it during the day and got clouded out at sunset.

Oh well there's always tomorrow.

Paul

[dcnicholls]

There has been a debate on the comets-ml Yahoo list whether P1 is a great comet or a "Great Comet". Consensus is the former, subject to P1's behaviour over the next few days.

DN

[Orion]

Those full res shots are fantastic! And I like the color of the photos through the fluorite lens.:thumbsup:

[iceman]

Stefan Seip has some more amazing images..

http://www.photomeeting.de/astromeeting/_index.htm

Click on Comets on the left menu. Remember to refresh the page if you've visited before.

[avandonk]

Very nice images Scott Terry hOughy Rocket Boy etc.

I can only imagine how much tail would be visible if far longer exposures against a dark background were possible. The next days will tell.

bert

[andy]

.
.
.
I am up the Blue Mountains and had about the same view, there was a lot of haze and low cloud in the west, great sunset though !

hopefully better luck tonight


andy

[iceman]

Here's my images from last night. I was hoping for something better, but they turned out ok. Hopefully will be able to capture more tonight.

First shot taken with the 350D + 17-70mm sigma, others with the 75-300mm kit lens.

The white arrows indicate the position of the comet. I further processed a copy of the selected area in the offset circle to highlight more of the comet.

[tornado33]

Hi
Once again readily visible in daytime through 10 inch scope.
Heres a 26 image stack with the unmodded 300D taken just before midday
Scott

[ving]

g'day folks,

I went up to kilbride nursing home just up the road... great western views and great comet views. I have to say that visually, even without binoculars (which i forgot anyhow) it was a spectacular sight!!! :)

heres some shots.

in teh first one it doesnt really show the tail but the second one does! :D

[RB]

Here's one from this evening (15th Jan).
The comet was very bright indeed.

Still battling the clouds though.

Canon 20D, 600mm @ f/8, 1/4 sec ISO 100.

[h0ughy]

here are some shots from Shortland (newcastle) tonight (15/01/2007).mix of shots pentax and canon and sorry I havent rotated anything yet:whistle:

[acropolite]

This is the best I could manage through the smoke haze to the west. First shot is cropped no processing, second is levels adjusted. I was about to give up in disgust for the second night in a row when HRH Liz spotted it with the binoculars; no doubt about it, she's not just a pretty face...:camera:

[Omaroo]

We got to see it clearly for the first time this evening. We'll try imaging tomorrow night. A great sight indeed!

[maksutover]

My photos all... taken using a normal cybershot digi camera..

[ballaratdragons]

Does anyone happen to have an image of it and the sun (and trees for scale). I am having trouble understanding scale in the pics above, and can't work out how far from the sun I am supposed to be looking.

Going by the pics above I might have seen it last night! I even had it in the Toucam on the lappy but thought it was a lousy image of Venus with blur on the top right which I put down to mis-collimation :doh:

And of course I didn't record the image as I thought 'Yuk, what a terrible Venus'. :sadeyes:

[jjjnettie]

Fantastic collection of shots guys. Well done.

I took this one yesterday, on first glance I didn't see anything. Closer examination today showed a white blur.
It's probably Venus though.:rolleyes:

[acropolite]

It's quite a few degrees above the sun, initially I was looking too low, SNP shows it at around 7 degrees above the sun (tonight) if that helps. Tomorrow night it should be around 9 degrees above the sun (i.e. horizon at sunset.) and standing almost vertically.

[ballaratdragons]

A Few Degrees? How far is a degree, Phil?

I have studied the star maps, but there are no stars out at sunset to find it that way.

[ballaratdragons]

This is a pic of my sunset tonight giving a great idea of scale.

I have marked with a yellow circle where I was looking. Am I right? Those large trees are about 1k away.

or: Please mark on this pic where I should be looking.

[Zander]

its quite a bit higher than that,
twice as high i'd say

[RB]

The full moon is half a degree Ken, so two full moons next to each other is one degree, that's the easy way I remember it.

[dcnicholls]

See added marker. Tonight P1 was nearly 7 degrees above the Sun. Given the Sun is about 0.5 degrees across, that makes it about 14 Sun-diameters above the Sun.

DN

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Zander. :thumbsup:

Back to other peoples pics, enough talk from me.

Bring on the pics folks :)

[tornado33]

Heres tonights effort, taken from the Newcastle Astronomicals observing site at Shortland, Newcastle.
First one is with Berts 300mm f2.8 lens, wires of radio towers present, with unmodded 350D,
2nd is cropped with modded 350D with 6 inch f3.6 schmidt Newtownian, "Cometracker" gee what an ironic name, it was doing just that hehehe.
Both are several images stacked and contrast enhanced. No tracking though, exposures round the 1/100th sec mark. Iris used to align images on the comet.
Haze and cloud present.

Comet has a wide slightly curved tail as it loops round the Sun, not the long skinny one the N hemishere people got pre-perehelion.

Comet still readily visible at midday in 10 inch scope, way brighter then mercury.
Scott

[ballaratdragons]

Thank you :)

[Astroman]

Here is my effort, pretty average, taken with a fuji finepix S-7000

[[1ponders]]

10 deg = the height of a clenched fist held together at arms lengths ;)

[h0ughy]

here are some more shots, did a Scott alder and stacked a few consecutive shots (only took a few) colour not right, well looks crappy but look at that tail!!!!

[fringe_dweller]

WOW! fantastic images -just beautiful :)
i only had my new canon 50 mm f 1.4, on my 350d, first time i used it - damn that thing fricken fast - i had to keep iso right down to stop it overexposing (didnt use manual mode properly -been a while since i took aphoto - got brain ache from it :P
anyway heres a widefield with solar limb still above horizon - and comet easily visible in shot - i roughly/quickly enhanced area where comet is behind wire to bring it right out without blowing it up

[RB]

Here's another from this evening, this time taken through a polarizing filter.

[MortonH]

Had a great view tonight from North Head in Sydney. Bit disappointed with my photos (Canon 10D) but here's one that at least proves I saw it!

Morton

21965

[RB]

Beautiful composition Morton, what lens did you use?

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Kearn, that pic gives great perspective and scale as to where it is, thanks.

Confirms dcnicholls desciption and illustration. :thumbsup:

[fringe_dweller]

No worries Thanks Ken,i like the reality shots just as much as the close-ups ;) ) :) its a tiny weeny bit blurry, I fixed that soon after that, got a hundred, bit hard to choose right now :screwy: field of view in that shot would (cant find my chart - but i think for the 350d equivalent of an 80mm film, so maybe 30 degrees wide?
forgot details too! 1/800 sec at f 6.3 (was in full auto) 400 iso

[jjjnettie]

Ken,
you probably already know this but, if you look on the back cover of Astronomy 2007, it gives you a ruler to measure degrees. You just need to hold the book up 20" in front of you to read off it.
Handy.

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Jeanette. Never noticed it before :doh:

[erick]

I'd been debating whether to try with my polarising filter - now I think I should - thanks!

[rogerg]

OK, here's a couple of shots from 14th and 15th. Not great, but something! Unprocessed too, I briefly tried stacking them but don't really have time right now.

http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_gallery.jsp?Item=534

[fringe_dweller]

here's another from tonight - it has Venus as well as p1 in it - i just enhanced it ridiculously to highlight their individual brightness in the hope of a comparson of sorts re current magnitude - that mothers head looked like it was gonna explode - a furious magnesium bomb!!! like it had gigantism of the nucleus :P
details: single shot 1/250 sec f 3.5 iso 200
EDIT: Venus being the bright object in the the mid-top right, and mcnaught is circled. nothing was intefering with brightness of Venus at the time.

[iceman]

Excellent images everyone. Scott I love yours!

[Grinz]

Hi - asked this question in the discussion thread too - was wondering whether anyone had luck in capturing Mercury and McNaught yesterday (14 Jan)? Would have needed some pretty good equipment & expertise since the planet is so much dimmer than the comet is at the moment... but I've been looking all over the Net in the hope that someone did capture it.

[Mikezoom]

Well despite a fair amount of smoke haze I still was able to see it. :D

Comet is in the top left of the image, just line up the white markers. Looked far better in the 15x70's, bring on today!!!

PS: Great images all! :thumbsup:

Mike.

[iceman]

Here are my images from last night. Much more pleased with how these turned out (compared to the night before).

All taken with the 350D + stock 75-300mm lens.

Thanks

[Orion]

I like the 5th one Mike, nice picturesque photo with the comet in the background.

[RB]

I agree Ed.

Mike they're beautiful and I too like #5 and the last one as well, the most.

[MortonH]

Rocket Boy,

I used a Canon 70-200mm f/4 with 1.4x converter. The focal length used was 208mm.

The picture has been cropped top and bottom to remove extraneous sky and water.

Morton

[Rodstar]

I suspect, Mike, that one of those Entrance shots may win you some gear at SPSP15! I prefer the last in the sequence, balancing aesthetic and astronomical considerations.

[southern 40]

Well comet Mc Naught put on a good show in Adelaide last night , at times it looked brighter than venus. Heres a couple of shots , btw great shots everyone ;)

[Deeno]

Here is an image that was quickly snapped from Gunderman down on the Hawksberry River. The first is the original. the following two are cropped.
Nikon D200, 80-200 ED

[venus]

Great images guys, also saw the comet last night was amazing.

[tornado33]

Hi all
Once again readily visible in daytime with the 10 inch scope, somewhat further from the Sun now, possibly a little fainter but still easy
Stack of 5x1000thsec shots with unmodded 300D, cropped and enhanced. Wide short tail rather then the long skinny one the northerners got pre-perihelion. taken at 1pm
Scott

[Rob_K]

Saw comet last night, but had to travel 60km to try to get away from bushfire smoke on W horizon (comet-chasers?!?). Great views, even though sky was still smokey, and McNaught disappeared into thick bank while the W sky was still quite bright. Got short AVI with NexImage through 4.5" f8 reflector, but lack of contrast was a real problem, meaning the Registax-processed image is not great.

Big clouds now building up, so tonight may be out for viewing here :doh:. Last night's image attached, for what it's worth. Some great images are being posted, and congratulations one and all!

Cheers -

[maksutover]

I too love the images that scotts posting. The ones during the daytime look similar to comet hyokutaki (did i spell it right?) with its beautiful greenish glow.

[dcnicholls]

Hyakutake, Sukiyaki .. whatever :)

[tornado33]

Thanks
Yes Hyakutake was specacular, but it got to just 0.1 AU from the Earth, and was a gas rich comet, a bright blue gas tail and not a lot of a dust tail. It was so close it spanned a good part of the sky and was high up in a perfectly dark sky. Imagine how Mcnaught would look if it was as bright as it is now but high up in a dark sky!

A good tail there Rob_k too
Scott

[CometGuy]

Finally got to see the comet when the sun was below the horizon, even if was through cirrus cloud. Wonderfully bright and still about mag -3. This image is a crop from a 1sec ISO400 exposure made with the 350D + 200mm f2.8 lens (at f4.5) . Time was Jan 16.39 UT from Mt Stayplton in SE QLD. The crop has been reduced 50%. Can't wait for later in the week, comet should be amazing.

Terry

[cometcatcher]

Great pics guys.

I'm trying to ignore the comet and pretend it's not there. Can't even see the sun here let alone the comet. :mad:

[Kyecat]

here is a pic of the comet taken from Tanilba Bay. Camera is an olympus 760 ultra zoom.

[RB]

Here's an animation of Comet McNaught this evening 16th Jan, representing how it moved in the space of about 2 minutes.

This file is heavily compressed for the forum, but I'll see if I can upload a larger one on the server if anyone wants to see it.

[Lee]

My effort from tonight.
D70 70mm f/4.5 1/10s ISO800
Little bit of basic exposure tweaking in PS CS2.

[CometGuy]

Just uploaded the bigger, less cropped version of the image a couple of post above:

http://www.pbase.com/image/73148758

Terry

[furtherout]

I took this photo at 8.25pm EST from Maddens Plains between Wollongong and Sydney. http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=135548984&imageID=1752466898

[ballaratdragons]

Welcome furtherout! :)

Gee the McNaught pics are coming thick & fast!!!! And all great.

[NJB]

Hi all. I finally saw the comet this evening - just. It appeared between foreground clouds, and behind background clouds here in Brisbane. I looked at it through 10x50 binoculars, and tried taking a photo by holding a 4mp digital camera up to the binoculars. Unfortunately I didn't hold the camera steady enough for most of the images. The best image (and only suitable image) I cropped and attached. Is it possible to enhance the image to highlight the comet more? I fiddled around quickly in a version of Paint Shop Pro I have (version 5), but don't really know what I am doing. Can anybody recommend any (simple) steps to enhance the comet in the image?

Happy viewing!
Noel

[Deeno]

WOW!

Some geat images guys
This comet just keeps getting better.
Here are some pics taken from Davistown looking across Brisbane Waters on the Central Coast NSW using a Nikon D200 with a 70-200 ED lens and a 2xtele-converter.

[Itchy]

Great Shots Guys

Here is my attempt from tonight through the cloud. It's my first image in months so I'm pretty pleased.

Canon 300D, 200mm zoom & 2x tele-extender.

Cheers

Itchy

[ballaratdragons]

Noel, raise the contrast a bit, and then sharpen. Try that :thumbsup:

Here is a sample with higher contrast and despeckle:

[Grinz]

Here's (http://www.thenewradiant.com/images/Picture2.jpg) my attempt to "fix" it for you.

:help: Not quite sure yet how you post pictures here with the thumbnails et al.

[MrB]

Some great photo's here, wish I had a decent camera.
Had a go myself with an old Canon Powershot A40 so it's not a great shot.
The 'star' above P1 is a dead CCD pixel element.

http://www.members.westnet.com.au/foo2/p1.jpg

Also took a lot of B+W shots with my old film SLR, will develop tonight and see how they turned out.

[NJB]

Thanks for the suggestion, Ken. I will play around a bit with it tomorrow - I have to get up early for an appointment across town tomorrow.

And thanks for your your sample fix, Lee. What did you do to the picture? As for posting pictures with thumbnails (it looks like we both have only joined this month), you simply click the "Manage Attachments" button in the "Additional Options" section below where you type a reply. (Scroll down after clicking "Add reply".) A window opens up allowing you to browse files on your local hard drive and upload them. The thumbnail is done automatically for you. Easy!

Noel

[rogerg]

OK, the other nights were rubbish, tonight was the real thing! Amazing comet. :eyepop:

For all my shots published to the web so far:
http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_gallery.jsp?Item=534

(http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_gallery.jsp?Item=534)For the comet with Venus:
http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=540 (http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=540)

For the comet over Perth:
http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=541 (http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=541)

For the green flash while waiting for the comet:
http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=542

(http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=542)I took many shots of the same FOV for each of the comet shots, to be able to stack them later, so should end up with nice big prints of reasonable quality which I'm really looking forward to. The above are raw individual frames.

I'm very happy with the results. Amazing comet. The other nights were "oh yeah, that's pretty good", tonight it was "wow, that's really a bright, big comet!".

[Deeno]

Here is a couple more I've fooled around with. Not cropped though.

[fringe_dweller]

heres my first from tonight - messed up a number of shots coz we was helping a few people observe the comet - but that was so incredibly rewarding and got a nice buzz from that anyway - love it when they see it for the first time :)
its too hot to go thru them all now - anyway Rogers p1 with venus is exactly how it should be
50 mm lens - 30 degree filed of view

[fringe_dweller]

heres another one but this one with the sun up still - I have darkened it (sky was much brighter/lighter than that at the time) to bring out comet a bit, details single 1/400 of sec iso 400 50mm lens
comet is circled

[fringe_dweller]

their awesome guys!!, ... Roger they rock mate - and a ripper green flash shot LOL classic!!
cant wait to get some decent shots meself, might have to wait for some tracking opportunities for that!! and go back to film too :P lot simpler to get a nice shot? - shes bright enough nearly - I hope so anyway!! pretty please to the weather gods

[Grinz]

Noel - I played a bit with the contrast and brightness, then cropped, saved, despeckled, played a bit again with contrast and then realised that was as much as I could do.

Sometimes cropping out elements that "trick" your computer such as that black bit in the foreground on your pic (I guess a power line or branch) already helps for further processing.

A high res. pic would be "easier" to work with - this one was a bit small to achieve too much. No expert here, but I do a lot of this kind of stuff in my daily work *smile*

[glenc]

I like this one Roger.

http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/productImages/000667.jpg

[iceman]

I didn't get a chance to get out at all last night, so it's great seeing those pics! Marvellous!

[Orion]

Wow, what absolutely beautiful photos of the comet guys!:thumbsup:

I don't know if it's me but I can see the tail getting longer.

[Lee]

The fact she is so low to the horizon is making for some stunning foreground detail in some pics - makes them all the better..... can't wait for tonight!

[IanW]

4 shots taken from Perth on Tueday (incorrectly posted as Wed)

http://www.arach.net.au/~iwallis/2006P1/2006P1-0.jpg
http://www.arach.net.au/~iwallis/2006P1/2006P1-1.jpg
http://www.arach.net.au/~iwallis/2006P1/2006P1-2.jpg
http://www.arach.net.au/~iwallis/2006P1/2006P1-3.jpg

Conditions were appalling, 20kt-30kts gusty wind and quite a turbulent conditions as seen by the lens movement in P1-3.jpg.

Nikon D2X, 400mm F/2.8 Nikkor (effective 600/2.8). ISO 640 shutter speeds from 1/250th to 1/60th. Images cropped in PS. No other adjustments made.

[Lee]

Great shots Ian! I'm hoping to bag some with the D70 through the ED80 tonight, would be ecstatic with one of those pics.....

[Grinz]

This is all I saw tonight...:shrug: from the beach overlooking Table Bay.

[Garyh]

Lots of great images guys..
Actually got a good view last night after being totally clouded out the last few evenings......all I can say FAnTaStiC...:2thumbs:

Yeah Lee thought the same with my refractor...hoisting it up a mountain to get a closeup pic..that would be great!!!
Heres my best pic from my vantage point.
Canon 300d with 300mm f/4 @ f/5 1/6 sec at iso 200
Adjusted levels (modded camera) then some brightness and contrast about 5% .Full frame..
Cheers Gary

[Grinz]

Green with jealousy (and impressed with the quality of all the pics I see here) - but I'll perservere....

[ving]

nice sunset shots everyone :)

what a great sight this comet is becoming!

[soundlink]

Just thought I would post this one taken from our rooftop in Lower North Shore (Sydney)

Taken with a Canon EOS 10D and a 70-200mm F2.8 IS L Series lens (was very windy still!!!) Just wish I had a 2x Extender now...

Enjoy!

Liam

[RB]

Great shot Liam and welcome to IIS.

Yep the 2x extender is great for times like these.

[Nuri]

Good stuff Liam!

[ving]

nice shot liam!
welcome aboard :)

[RB]

Another one from last night taken at 840mm focal length on a 20D.
This has not been cropped, just resized for the web.
If you take the 1.6x camera crop factor into account it's actually at 1344 mm :scared:

A very bright comet indeed.

[iceman]

Great images everyone! I need more focal length, like yours RB! All you need is some nice foreground interest. Great tail!

[RB]

I know, some foreground would be awesome.
From where I am it's just bush and too much haze once the comet sinks low, it disappears into it.

The focal length was achieved by stacking a 2x & 1.4x tele converter on the 300mm lens. :scared:

[Icebreaker]

This image has been taken on the 15th January, at Semaphore beach in Adelaide

Pentax K10d, Pentax 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5, at 105mm. 5s exposure and edited in photoshop to enhance contrast of the sky.

[iceman]

Beautiful image, IceBreaker! More careful blending where the sky/water meets would make it even better.

Great composition.

[rogerg]

Nice shot!, good to have some people in it. The colours make it look almost like it's been inverted for some reason.

[ballaratdragons]

Not only another great Comet pic, but an Artistic pic as well! Well done :)

[Astroman]

we are so lucky having water to our west :)

[tornado33]

Its now fading, today, noticably fainter but still visible in daylight with my 10 inch scope
This stack of 6 shots taken 11;30am today
Scott

[dcnicholls]

Yes indeed. We only have Wagga ;) ;)

DN

[circumpolar]

This is my first attempt at a comet.
Yes it is there.... under the branches on the right of trunk, above the distant mountains.:)

[iceman]

Wow Matt, spectacular!

[jjjnettie]

I finally got a break in the clouds this evening.:thumbsup:
I'm so very very happy.

[Dennis]

Wow - excellent images jjj; I'm jealous as we tried tonight but were once again thwarted by persistent cloud cover.

Cheers

Dennis

[Jules]

Well, I've just come in after having a good look at the comet. I had my 10x50s and had them on a tripod, so it made it easy to show the kids and everyone else who were standing around.

Luckily the skies in Adelaide were clear right where the comet was!

Here's my effort at capturing it.

Konica Minolta 7D, Sigma 70-300mm @ 300mm, ISO 800

Cheers,
Julian

[jjjnettie]

That's a terrific image Julian.

[RB]

Great images "circumpolar" and Julian, wow.

JJJ your a champ, awesome stuff.

I'm so happy that so many people got a look at this marvel......:2thumbs:

[astro_south]

After consecutive evenings of staring at clouds Andrew (Middy) and myself finally got a decent view of the comet. Yesterday we visually got it for a few seconds through binos and through his dob.

We set up on Andrew's front lawn and tonight looked the best so far. We managed a combined time of about one minute with the comet in two sightings.

Below is the lovely sunset we were treated too (didn't come up as well on the picture - taken with a Canon 710IS point and shoot).

The other three show the best view we had of the comet (ie the biggest gap in the clouds) The close up is a full size crop. These images were taken with my 400D @ ISO 200, 0.5 sec shutter speed using my 4" ST refractor with a focal length of 500mm at prime focus. The shots suffer from a little camera shake as I pushed the button, but I will soon be picking up a remote to overcome that sort of thing. Andrew took a fantastic shot through his dob made even more great by the limited time he had to take it.

I guess it is same time tomorrow Andrew ;)

[Grinz]

Julian, Matt, Andrew, everyone else: WOW! :thumbsup:

Love the tree, Matt and Julian, yours is breathtaking. But all the others are good too - thanks for sharing and letting me live vicariously here behind the clouds.

[jjjnettie]

Dennis,
It's been a real trial these last few day hasn't it.
Yesterday was the worst.
After packing up because of rain, I was sitting the car looking out the window, the clouds parted on the horizon. The camera was packed up and in the back of the wagon. Everytime I went to get out of the car to get the camera, it would rain.
Sit in the car, no rain. Open the door, put a foot out, the rain would start. Honestly, it happened half a dozen times.
I don't know what I did to deserve such Karma.

[CometGuy]

Got the Comet again tonight, although high cloud interfered yet again :mad2: Still can't really complain as comet and tail easily visible to naked eye. Here is a 1/4 second exposure with 350D + 200mm lens @ f3.5 and ISO100.

[middy]

As the other Andrew (astro_south) said, we finally managed a decent look at the comet tonight. Managed to snap off 3 decent photos afocally through the Dob. This is the result of stacking those 3 images plus a bit of histogram stretching to bring out the tail.

[RB]

Excellent Middy !

It reminds me of a shuttle launch.

[[1ponders]]

Wow guys, they look great.

[asimov]

One from this evening (17th)

6 sec. exposure with the 400D.

Super photo's guys :thumbsup:

[fringe_dweller]

at last figured out new lens :P got some nice ones tonight - thats just awesome asi , you must of had a better horizon than we had here
hers one from tonight :)

[Ric]

Fantastic image Asimov, a real beauty.
That's a great image as well Fringe_Dweller, I reckon the pylon put it into perspective.

Cheers

[gaa_ian]

I love your shot with the deep blue sky Asimov, I am so looking forward to seeing this tomorrow !
The next Editions of the Astro mags will be so full of great shots !

[MrB]

True! I hadn't even thought of that yet!



I'm blown away that view is over the Canning Bridge area.
The tower and stack looks like the Cockburn Cement works. Amazing that the two could be in the same frame!



I know exactly what you mean, I've had no end of drama's the last two nights trying to photograph in the stiff sea breeze on Rockingham beach.

[fringe_dweller]

couple more 50mm widefields from last evening (17th) , one features Venus as well (affected by haze)

http://southern-x.org/so_x/p1/p1venus17th.jpg

http://southern-x.org/so_x/p1/p1solo_17th.jpg

[Astroman]

here are a couple from lastnight.

http://www.theastroweb.com/astronomy/comets/mcnaught0001.jpg

and...

http://www.theastroweb.com/astronomy/comets/mcnaught0002.jpg

[iceman]

Wow, great images everyone! Julian, JJJ, asimov, kearn, andrew.. everyone's are great!

[Dennis]

I'll second that Mike - we've seen a fantastic collection of photos from everyone who has had a go. Thanks to all those talented photographers who have shared their results - it’s been great, especially for those clouded out souls who have yet to see the beast!

Cheers

Dennis

[acropolite]

Fantastic shot Asi, one of the best I have seen posted.

[auroradude]

Hello and many thanks from Alaska for the fantastic images! As you know we have lost our view of the comet since about the 14th.
I found this site while searching for views from "down under". I'll look forward to many more so keep 'em coming! Great shots!
Kindest Regards,
Dennis A. :hi:
Homer, Alaska Lat. 59.7N Long. 151.7W

[astro_south]

I agree,

Great shots everyone, Asi and Roger have some standouts for my mind.

[rogerg]

A few more snaps from the hills of Perth again...

http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=543 (http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=543)
http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item= (http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=544)544
(http://www.rogergroom.com/rogergroom/esh_rog_item.jsp?Item=544)

Only a brief trip out for it last night, but it was worth it with the tail becoming so much longer and strong. More shots to process from the trip but these will do for now. :)

[Grinz]

Hi Dennis - I am also new here, also from a different part of the world - and found this place in the same way as you did. The Australians are doing a great job here :thumbsup: and they have made me feel at home - hope you will feel so too.

I'm glad McNaught came along for many reasons and one of those is that it has brought me closer to the "other" people of the Southern Hemisphere and these guys are seeing & experiencing what we see a few hours later - a really cool preview of events to be here.

:)

Will add some McNaught obs. reports of my own - when I get to see it again. Sat in a meeting tonight, and it was cloudy yesterday and the day before. Saw it on Sunday naked eye in a break :cloudy:in the clouds and it instantly blew me away ... and a few short steps later I was here. I'll stay as long as they'll have me so I am trying to be a good girl and behave *chuckle*

[Garyh]

Hi everyone,
It sure was a nice show after sunset!!
So many great shots being posted.
Lovely images Roger!!...:thumbsup:
Heres my go last night through high cloud. It looked like a cloud out but on sunset the high cloud started breaking up and 20min after sunset NcNaught showed itsself. Glad I took the genesis up the mountain!!!
Here`s one of the last shots which shows of the extent of the tail taken with the comet head only about 2 degrees above the horizon.
Details: Televue Genesis and canon 300d approx 2 sec at iso 100
Some slight procesing in PS..
Cheers Gary....
Lets hope for more tail and Clear skies tonight!!!!!

[Ghul]

Hello
Here is on the image I took from the 'Obelisk' opposite King Edward Park, Newcastle on 16.01.07. The image was taken using Canon 350D attached to Orion 80mm refractor. This image was captured around 2030hrs.
As the image shows there was plenty of cloud cover. It was amazing and fantastic to see the comet, at times very bright against the dark clouds!
Cheers
Kismet
:D

[ving]

great images peeps!

[jjjnettie]

Thanks everyone for your great images.
The tail is getting longer and longer every day!

[MrB]

I'm loving all these great shots.

I have some 16 + 17/01/07 B+W negs that are quite good, even with the camera shake from the strong sea breeze. I haven't got a neg scanner tho :(
Looks like we'll be clouded out tonight, so will do some prints and scan those. (including neg-print and print-scanner dynamic range loss :( )


BTW Garyh, love the contrail in that pic! Shame the plane's not in the shot.

[fringe_dweller]

Thanks for comments evryone :) whew I am almost glad its cloudy now - lol thats almost a sick thing to say i know - but get a chance to recharge batteries and write detailed personal histerical .. er i mean historical logs!
man, the most imaged comet in history?, or would that go to hale-bopp still? those close - ups here, and in the other threads, are just fantastic, many remind me of the views i had thru the 8x56 eschenbachs and the 20x80's binocs, i will be putting them in my personal logs as examples/reminders of those amazing views.
also love the widefields close to human vision views andrew and roger - gee , as mentioned by Paul, perth has had the best views me-thinks - reminds me of the olympics would be in sydney annoucement by the IOC - ' and the winner is...perth!' ;)
Ok, now we know we have a luverly golden/yellow dusty sunlight reflecting broad-tailed dusty comet of maybe 6 or 7d, the 64k question now is ... how big is the Ion tail!!!!!??? could it be a beauty also, and who will be first to image and see it? ;)
Keep 'em coming all you good people of IIS! I need more images MORE I SAY! ....FEED ME!!! lol
and asi, would love to know what lens you used, seems to be very nice my friend :thumbsup:

[fringe_dweller]

hey I just read of a 10-15 d dust tail being imaged from NH - OMG IIS'ers GO GO GO!!!!

[fringe_dweller]

btw! i am still waiting for the first mobile phone/camera pic of a comet in history :confuse2: :confused: :prey2: tonight!? (i dont have one unfortunately)

[GeoffW]

Hi all,

Here's my attempts from the 17th just using a plain old digital camera (Ricoh G4Wide) down at the beach in Perth. The horizon is not level due to the fence pole the camera was sitting on! The red dot in the background is a navigation marker and the bright white dot in the lower left are people fishing on a groyne. The other bright lights on the right are ships and Venus.

Hope the cloud clears for this evening. Quite a spectacle.

Cheers,

Geoff W.

[fringe_dweller]

their fantastic Geoff wow what a grand view! love the w-i-i-idefield with venus the best! thanks!

[danielsun]

Wow!! Great shots everyone :thumbsup: I just can't wait to see it myself so i can try for a shot too!!

[tornado33]

Hi all
I put my 6 inch F3.6 "Cometracker" to work tonight, going to wallsend Park to get it between areas of high cloud, 3x 1 sec ISP 200 shots stacked, taken at 8:56pm local time
Scott

[Ric]

Hi Scott, that's an awesome image.

Fantastic

[Zander]

wow scott:eyepop:

that is the best image of the comet that i have seen so far :jawdrop:

NICE WORK:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Astroman]

Awesome scott quick send it to all the magazines :) Show them yanks what Aussie photographers can do in tough situations :)

[tornado33]

Thanks :)
yes I will send it off when I get back from Lostock :)
It was awe inspiring standing in the park seeing it naked eye and thru 8x56 binocs, a very yellow colour and so bright and a long tail. Even after the head had set the tail was visible like a searchlight beam.
Scott

[astro_south]

WOW - what an amazing comet this is. Clearly visible in the twighlight as a great streak - just an awesome sight. Got heaps of shots tonight (18th Jan), a sample of which are below. I haven't processed these shots (mostly because I don't know how :) ) apart from some resizing and the last one is a crop of a slightly larger image.

Details (all with 400D)
1) 2.5sec, ISO 100, using 4" ST Refractor (500mm focal length)

2) 10sec ISO 200, F5.6 (18-55mm kit lens @ 55mm)

3) 21sec, ISO100, F3.5 (18-55mm @ 18mm) - shows the streamers from the tail


thanks for looking

[MortonH]

Luckily got a break in the clouds just at the right time tonight. Here are my two best images.

Taken with Canon EOS10D, 70-200mm f/4 with 1.4x TC. Both images f/5.6, exp 3.2s at ISO 100. One at 98mm and other at 280mm.

Finally got to see the amazing tail that you guys have been imaging the last two nights. Switched location this time and viewed from the top of Nielsen Park in Vaucluse, just about 50 metres from the street to get away from the lights. Unlike previous photos on Monday, the comet was to the side of the city rather than smack in the middle, which I think improved transparency just a bit. Took around 25 shots and got just as many mozzie bites as I forgot to put on repellent!

Tomorrow night I'm off to Lake Macquarie to visit the in-laws. Hoping to get even darker skies there. Forecast looks good too.

Morton

[Portmac]

Finally I have a pic of it, took 3 days to get it.
Clouds,clouds and more clouds.
Taken with Canon 400D on tripod.
Location - Lighthouse, Port Macquarie
Shooting Date/Time 18/01/2007 8:41:18 PM
1.6 sec exp
Av 6.3
ISO 400
Lens 70.0 - 300.0 mm @300mm
Single shot

[MortonH]

Hey Andrew D (astro_south), that last one is awesome. You must have really clear transparent skies where you live.

Morton

[fringe_dweller]

more brilliant shots its gonna be an awesome week ahead - check out the type III tail in last widefield shot of Andrews!! there heavier particles that are too heavy for the solar wind to easily move, tracing out McNaughts recent orbit/path through the solar system, just amzing, no doubting this is one in a lifetime stuff now :thumbsup: a very nice distant future meteor shower in the making?

[davewaldo]

Hi Everyone!

I have enjoyed all your images to date!

I have been trying to see this darn comet all week but have been blocked by clouds! That was until tonight!! :D

:eyepop: I was shocked by how amazing it looked! Tonight was also my first atempt at any sort of astro imaging.

These shots were on a 20D with 70-200L f4
Around 4 sec @ f8 400iso

Thanks Everyone.

[Mick]

Wow and what a first attempt.

[MortonH]

Davewaldo, very nice shots. The first one should end up on your wall, unless you take an even better one in the next few days!

Make sure you submit them to www.spaceweather.com so people in the US can enjoy them too (plus it's cool to show your friends and work colleagues that one of your pics has been published on an American website!)

Morton

[Volans]

G'day All,

Here are my attempts from Redcliffe (just north of Brisbane). I first observed the comet from this place on Sunday evening.

In the close up image it appears the nucleus may have split? Or is this just an artefact of my rather dodgy astrophotography techniques? Other images with similar meta-data show almost the same results.

CMN1 Image data: 6 second exposure at f14 (I forgot to open it up after the sunset pics :doh: ), ISO 800, 300mm zoom.

CMN1_closeup Image data: as above for CMN1 just cropped to show nucleus at original image size.

CMN2 Image data: 4.5 second exposure at f14, ISO 400, 75mm zoom.

The last is just a sunset shot that kept me entertained while I waited for the comet.

Peter.

[MortonH]

Peter, nice shots. The close-up is very interesting. I noticed through binoculars that the nucleus/coma seems elongated, which I haven't seen before. Your shot does seem to show two 'blobs' joined together. Will be interesting to follow this. Of course, if it does split there should be a surge in brightness!!!

Morton

[asterix]

Here's my photos.
First is a crop taken with a Fuji FinePix F30 -contrast and brightness played with to enhance the view.
Also one taken hand held at the eye piece of my 6" F6 Dob - also contrast and brightness altered to enhance the tail.

[dcnicholls]

Has anyone mentioned the shot by Graham Palmer in NZ?

http://www.spacew.com/gallery/image005564.html

Breathtaking.

DN

[MortonH]

OMG, I think the best image so far has just been posted on www.spaceweather.com, taken from South Africa. Oh for crystal clear skies and a perfect horizon...

[MortonH]

Oops, I think Graham Palmer's may be better!!!

[ballaratdragons]

:eyepop: :eyepop: :eyepop: :eyepop: :eyepop: :eyepop: :eyepop: :eyepop: :eyepop:

WOW!

[fringe_dweller]

thats an over 30? degree violently curved tail (18mm = 70? d fov?) that andrew has captured there i believe, it would help that twilight is shorter for brisbanes latitude i would guess, nothin to sneeze at ey!

[okiscopey]

Can't compete with the NZ shot but just for the record, snapped these just before 9pm tonight (Thu) out of my window at Bondi.

Canon 300D on manual (around 1 sec at f/11, 400ISO) with kit 55-200 lens (at about 70mm and 200mm).

Similar cloud formations as in MortonH's nearby shots from Nielsen Park.

[[1ponders]]

Aint this the funnest comet. Wow!! :eyepop:

It finally cleared here to for me to have my first clear shot at this sucker. Man what a stunner. Gobsmacked :jawdrop: I'm so looking forward to tomorrow night and Saturday night and Sunday night ........:D

A series of images makes a great animation! Shame about the size though :shrug:

[stephenmcnelley]

Thanks for the lovely shots everyone, there was no luck at the Mt Kent domes due to consistent western weather, shame as the C20 DK could have given some great imaging detail.
Oh well maybe next time if it makes it back...lol