C/2013 US10 Catalina

[jase (Jason)]

C/2013 US10 Catalina (taken 10/08/2015 12:45 UTC), 4 x 120s subs (unbinned), clear filtered. 16" ASA F/3.5, PME, Aspen CG16070, under the dark skies of SSO.

Apologies for the small image sizes. 200k file limit remains a challenge with a 16mp camera.

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Very good. The second tail shows up very well.

[jase (Jason)]

Cheers Kevin. I'm a DSO imager... and a solar system 'hack' imager. I don't do it often enough. In fact, if my memory service me right, this is my first post in the solar system forum since joining in 2006. I will post here again in another 9 years. No guarantees you will see an improvement...

The DSO side of me is thinking its nice to some background galaxies in just 8 minutes of exposure time when in reality I should be enjoying the view of the comet.

[Peter Ward]

Wow. What a superb result Jase. That ASA is *very* impressive.

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Originally Posted by jase

Cheers Kevin. I'm a DSO imager... and a solar system 'hack' imager. I don't do it often enough. In fact, if my memory service me right, this is my first post in the solar system forum since joining in 2006. I will post here again in another 9 years. No guarantees you will see an improvement... ...

Comet photography is more like deep sky than solar system imaging. So if you can do deep sky, you can do comets, as evidenced by your wonderful images!

[Paul Haese]

I really like the wider field of view Jase. Both tails are clearly evident.

[jase (Jason)]

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

Wow. What a superb result Jase. That ASA is *very* impressive.

Thanks Peter! Something different from me at least!

Originally Posted by cometcatcher

Comet photography is more like deep sky than solar system imaging. So if you can do deep sky, you can do comets, as evidenced by your wonderful images!

Cheers Kevin. Indeed, the principles are similar. Its harder however to stack on the comet and get a clean background when working with images containing large diffraction spikes. Requires additional consideration and photoshopping!

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

I really like the wider field of view Jase. Both tails are clearly evident.

Thanks Paul. I may upload it to my site sometime so people can experience the full FoV. The tail nearly extends right across the 87 arcmin FoV with this set up.

[topheart]

Well done Jase!

Did you sidereal track with short subs and then go back and shoot the stars when the comet had left?? or did you manage to align on stars and comet separately and blend with removal of the blurred comet / blurred stars??

Cheers,
Tim

[bkm2304 (Richard Brown)]

Well, I was going to put up another one of Catalina I did last night ..... but the definitive shot has been taken.

Well done and wow.

Richard

[gregbradley]

Great shot Jase.

Here is the location of the comet tonight:

http://members.westnet.com.au/mmatti/sc.htm

down and the right of NGC6876

Greg.

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

Wow!
beautiful shot
Surely the IOTW?
thanks for sharing Jase,
regards
Graham

[jase (Jason)]

Originally Posted by topheart

Well done Jase!

Did you sidereal track with short subs and then go back and shoot the stars when the comet had left?? or did you manage to align on stars and comet separately and blend with removal of the blurred comet / blurred stars??

Cheers,
Tim

Thanks Tim! Yes sidereal tracking only. 4 x 120s clear filtered subs on the star field. The comet nucleus moved between subs. I simply produced two masters, one registered to the comet nucleus, the other to the background stars and merged them in photoshop. Registering on the comet nucleus is key if you want to keep the wispy features of the tail.

Originally Posted by bkm2304

Well, I was going to put up another one of Catalina I did last night ..... but the definitive shot has been taken.

Well done and wow.

Richard

Cheers Richard. Not sure if its the definitive shot. There are some good ones out there. With the comet getting brighter, its worth collecting more data on. Thanks for your comment.

Originally Posted by gregbradley

Great shot Jase.

Here is the location of the comet tonight:

http://members.westnet.com.au/mmatti/sc.htm

down and the right of NGC6876

Greg.

Thanks Greg. Yes, a pairing with a DSO would be a fantastic sight. Takes some planning and probably a bit more luck given the abysmal weather.

Originally Posted by graham.hobart

Wow!
beautiful shot
Surely the IOTW?
thanks for sharing Jase,
regards
Graham

Thank you Graham. Has been an interesting exercise capturing the comet. Some trial and error. Pleased you liked it.

[gregbradley]

Weather in Sydney has not been this ideal for astrophotography for around 5 years. We are having a dry winter and a completely clear blue sky and completely clear night are becoming routine at the moment.

Greg.

Thanks Greg. Yes, a pairing with a DSO would be a fantastic sight. Takes some planning and probably a bit more luck given the abysmal weather.

[topheart]

Thanks for the extra information Jase!

Tim