Comet Boattini C/2007 W1 and its Ion Tail

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi all

Finally this morning I got everything right to image Comet Boattini - no jpegs, no moon distractions and I was up early enough to start imaging it while it was low down.

Here are two images from the same data set, stacked differently (one add, one median).

12x 3 minute exposures @ ISO800, ICNR, flats calibrated. Shot using my Canon 350D, ED80, guided using a DMK.

I was very happy to see the ion tail reveal itself during processing.

1200px wide versions at my gallery:
Comet Boattini C/2007 W1
Comet Boattini C/2007 W1

Thanks for looking.

[venus (Lydia)]

great capture there Mike.

[Garyh]

Now you can`t miss that Ion tail!
That second image is a pearler!
Well done!

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Even more Italian that one

[h0ughy (David)]

lucky bugger, well done

[Matty P (Matt)]

Lovely image Mike, the tail has come out nicely.

Now if only I had some clear skies.

Well done.

[DaveM]

Great images Mike!

[tornado33]

yes lovely image, smooth, sharp and the tail well shown
Scott

[AlexN]

very cool.

[iceman (Mike)]

Thanks guys - I'll have another go in the mornings this week if the skies clear, before it heads too far to the north.

[rollmebackagain]

you lucky southern hemisphere folks...

nice shots. some of the clearest images of the ion tail i've seen

[glenc (Glen)]

Thanks Mike for another great image. I saw Boattini's tail with a 12" yesterday morning. It was more than 40' long in the 4 o'clock position. You can see it if you move your scope back and forth across it.

[gaa_ian (Ian)]

Great Image Mike thanks for the reminder, I had forgotten all about this comet.
It was an easy pick up with my 16x60 Pentax Binoculars this morning.
Going to get the scope out now !

Had a look with the 10" Dob and a 27mm Panoptic, a lovely comet.
I thought I could see a hint of the Ion tail with a bit of Averted imagination

[Kirkus (Kirk)]

Boy, that is a pretty one!

This is probably a silly question, but, you guided on the comet itself. Right, Mike?

[iceman (Mike)]

No, not in this case. I could see the comet in the DMK window but it was too faint to guide on and would've needed 1 sec or longer refresh rate.

The framing isn't the best because I had trouble finding a guide star.

I might try to image it again tomorrow morning.

[Kirkus (Kirk)]

Originally Posted by iceman

No, not in this case. I could see the comet in the DMK window but it was too faint to guide on and would've needed 1 sec or longer refresh rate.

The framing isn't the best because I had trouble finding a guide star.

I might try to image it again tomorrow morning.

Oh. I gotcha. For some reason I thought it was auto guided (which you never said in your original post).

I guess Boatinni is visible here in the Northern Hemisphere for about another week or so just prior to sunrise. Between the smoke from all the fires in California and the coastal fog taking over the night sky, I'm hoping to get a glimpse sometime this coming week. Otherwise I guess I'll have to wait another 65,000 years.

[spearo (Frank)]

bellissimo!
frank

[acropolite (Phil)]

Fantastic image Mike, the difference in the two images is amazing considering they came from the same data. I prefer the impact of the second image.