Comet Lovejoy Angular Velocity

multiweb (Marc) · #1 27-12-2011, 08:49 PM

From all the shots gathered so far it looks like 50mm to 35mm FL is the sweet spot to get a good fov. How fast does the comet move in relation to the star background? I'm intending to do 300s subs on it and probably a quick mosaic on two 50mm panels from a dark site. Is it moving slow enough or am I dreaming? Realistic plan?

naskies (Dave) · #2 28-12-2011, 03:42 AM

I just checked my exposures taken around 3 am on 25th Dec and 27th Dec. I'd estimate the comet has moved about 5 degrees in declination over the 48 hours - which is about 6.3 arc secs in declination per minute. Astroman did a great job of capturing a closeup of the comet's head, and I had no problems with stacking 301 sec subs taken at 14 mm focal length on an APS sized sensor.

Good luck - I look forward to seeing your results!

multiweb (Marc) · #3 28-12-2011, 07:38 AM

Thanks a lot for the info Dave.