Comet 29P in outburst + animation

[Rob_K]

Comet 29P Schwassmann-Wachmann orbits just outside Jupiter and normally sits at around mag 16-17. It's well-known though for its regular outbursts, and the latest has brought its brightness up to somewhere around mag 11. It is pretty much 'stellar' at the moment, but it would be at the scale I shoot anyway, LOL!

Two images here - first a shot from 6 Feb when it was in the clear, relatively! The beautiful variable star R Leonis is also marked (near minimum, worth a look colour-wise). Second is a rough animation showing the comet's movement over 3 nights, from 5-7 Feb. Total movement is about 14 arcminutes, give or take. The comet is the tiny dot near the centre that moves from frame to frame.

Sky conditions weren't that good on any of the 3 nights, but worst on the first. These shots were manually guided with slo-mo knob on EQ1 mount.

Cheers -

Rob

[iceman (Mike)]

Nice work Rob, I like how you catch these faint fuzzies.

Well done.

[Liz]

Yes, well done Rob You must have sooo much patience to find and capture the ... not so bright comets, though 29P is a lot brighter than usual. Still too faint for me.
R Leonis is a beauty too, what a little treasure

[Rob_K]

Thanks Mike, Liz. I'd stick to brighter comets although there aren't too many around at the moment!

Cheers -

[Quark (Trevor)]

Very nicely done Rob,

Love how you have presented your data, an excellent example of what can be achieved with manual guiding.

Regards
Trevor

[telecasterguru (Frank)]

Nice images of a very faint object. I like it a lot.

Frank

[DavidU (Dave)]

Very exacting work there mate.

[Troy]

King of the faint dots
Well done Rob

[Kevnool (Kev)]

Great sucsess Rob for such a faint one.
Cheers Kev.

[Rob_K]

Thanks guys! Don't know what the chances of a fourth night are - we've had cloud & big thunderstorms moving through.

Cheers -

[Matt Wastell (Matt)]

Great capture Rob - that is a long way away!