Kreutz SunGrazer Lovejoy

[tilbrook@rbe.ne (Justin Tilbrook)]

Hi, Terry.

So there's still hope!
I'll have another go at your comet, that's if my new imaging setup ever arrives.

Thanks,

Justin.

[Liz]

Originally Posted by tilbrook@rbe.ne

I'll have another go at your comet, that's if my new imaging setup ever arrives.

Thanks,

Justin.

Oh yes Justin, and what did this comet make you buy????? I wonder how many people bought new gear because of this comet - I did, as did Lester.

Great image Terry, still pretty visible with a bit of processing.

[tilbrook@rbe.ne (Justin Tilbrook)]

Hi, Liz.

Iv'e bought a pretty standard astro imaging setup.

Heq5 pro mount, 8" f/4 astrgraph with coma correcter. and orion autoguider package from BINTEL.

I wanted something portable, my homemade gear is heavy and not very portable. Also wanted a little more accuracy, drive wise.

Cheers,

Justin.

[Rob_K]

Well, I'm stunned. First chance with the Moon moving back and around 7 degrees of tail is still showing faintly:
http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/w...1-05UTtext.jpg

Comet is the faint blue streak at the right hand side. Don't know what happened to my centering, camera might not have quite been in line with the scope. Rapt, have been able to follow this comet photographically since 2 Dec, through all its stages.

Cheers -

[Lester]

Top catch Rob, I almost missed the FOV. Set the co-ordinates and just squeezed it into the 200mm FOV. This is 3x5 minute exposures with 5D MK II at ISO 6400.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/16d2d212.jpg

[Liz]

Wow guys, unbelievable!! Well done!!!

[tilbrook@rbe.ne (Justin Tilbrook)]

Hi, Lester and Rob.

Great work once again.
Hope to try tonight through the new scope. Polar aligned it last night, need to do PEC training tonight, and hopefully that will be enough to get some reasonable length exposures.

I'm still waiting on the auto guider package to come.

Cheers,

Justin.

[Rob_K]

Thanks Lester, Liz, Justin. Hope the new gear works out alright, look forward to the results Justin! Nice catch too Lester!

Cheers -

[tilbrook@rbe.ne (Justin Tilbrook)]

Hi,

Well I'm surprised but here it is!

Not much I know, there is a broad streak from the middle of the frame to the top.

I tried at ISO 6400, too much noise, so I stuck to 3200.

equipement.

8" f/4 reflector coma corrector ( not real impressed with this!), HEQ 5 pro mount no auto guide.

Camera canon 1100D - ISO 3200 - 5 x 5 minute exp.

Stacked in DSS and processed in photshop.

I may to improve the image if I can work out how to stack comets in DSS.

Cheers,

Justin.

[Lester]

Good to see you got it Justin. Could be hard to find at that focal length. I tried last night, only got one exposure before cloud arrived. Cannot see the comet in my FOV, the sky was very murky before the cloud.

All the best.

[Rob_K]

Congratulations Lester on your Lovejoy image from 23 Dec making it onto the front cover of the Journal of the British Astronomical Association.
http://britastro.org/journal/122-1.htm

Cheers -

[Lester]

Thanks Rob. Here is my image of Comet Lovejoy 16th February. It is 7x5 minute exposures with 5D MK II at ISO 6400 and 70-200mm lens at 200mm F2.8 .

This is a much better result than what I got two days ago with the lens at 70mm F2.8.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/ac23f18b.jpg

[Lester]

Hi all, this is 5x6 minute exposures with Astro 40D at ISO 1600 and Takahashi 160mm Epsilon Astrograph. This scope was trained by a pro for comets; before I had it.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/7a7096e5.jpg

[Liz]

Brilliant Lester, there's certainly life in the old girl yet!!

[Rob_K]

Nice shooting Lester! Looking good for tonight, might give it a go at 200mm as well - if I could get half what you got I'd be happy!

Cheers -

[Rob_K]

Originally Posted by Rob_K

- if I could get half what you got I'd be happy!

Cheers -

I wish Lester! Not much luck tonight at 200mm, only the very faintest trace of the tail, depending on what your imagination is like.
http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/w...eb2012text.jpg

Dare I say it (again!), that's it for me on this comet?

Cheers -

[Lester]

I can see it with averted vision on your image Rob. This comet is over magnitude 17 now and large/diffuse, so to record it with a tail of over 4 degrees, it is still the largest southern comet in our skies. Well done Rob.

What exposure times and ISO did you use Rob?

[Rob_K]

Originally Posted by Lester

What exposure times and ISO did you use Rob?

Thanks Lester. I took it at 200mm and it was maxed-out for my camera/lens combination at ISO 1600 & F/5.6. The 5 subs represented 20 mins of painstaking hand-cranking trying to avoid the slightest tremor in the wobbly EQ1 mount, but 30 min in all because there were two wasted framing subs and two shorter subs interrupted by cloud. Never gone that long before on a target!

Cheers -

[CometGuy]

Well done Lester, the Epsilon records it easily!

I had a go last night but waited onto it go into my - heavily light polluted - western sky so the gradients are very bad and not worth posting here (although it is still visible).

Terry

[CometGuy]

Hi Rob,

Well done getting it at f5.6! Time for a faster lens .

Terry