Itty bitty Panstarrs Comet

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Somewhere in the field of the first full frame photo is Comet C/2011 L4 Panstarrs. The bright star at the top is a magnitude 3.25 star in Libra. Second frame is a 1:1 crop of the middle of the first frame. Third frame is resampled 200%. It's so tiny in the ED80! It's got some growing to do over the next few months. It's supposed to be about magnitude 9.5 at the moment.

Details. 21 x 2 minute subs at ISO 800, Unmodified Pentax K-x, Kson ED80 at F5.5, Orion field flattener, Baader Semi-APO filter. Shooted over two very nearby streetlights. I had to extend the dewshield with a cardboard one to keep out the light.

[Matt Wastell (Matt)]

Hi Kevin
Wow - great capture - such a tiny object for the 80! Looking forward to see if it grows!

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Just looking at the ephemeris, no wonder it's tiny. It's still over 3.5 AU away!

So far I've failed to sight it visually in the ED80 or 6 inch Newtonian.

[tomtom]

Great pictures! Didn't know you could see it already.
Anyone know if it will be visible from Aus when it gets closer?

[Larryp (Laurie)]

Great work capturing something so small!

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Originally Posted by tomtom

Great pictures! Didn't know you could see it already.
Anyone know if it will be visible from Aus when it gets closer?

Should be visible now and for the rest of the month in 12 inch scopes in the evening sky between Libra and Scorpius according to http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/

As for magnitude estimates, the BAA comet section puts it at mag 9, but it seems a hard target for mag 9. Stellarium has it at mag 12?

Looks it it will disappear from view for a while with conjunction with the Sun in November, then reappear in the SE morning sky late December 2012 in Scorpius. It will remain a pre dawn object from about late December to late February. Sometime February it should be naked eye. This is the best time for me to take the best photos I think.

Late February / early March it will swing into the western sky near Sunset. It may be bright at this time but has poor elongation from the Sun. From late March we will lose it from the southern hemisphere as it rapidly heads north. Then it's showtime for the northern hemisphere.