C-2017 K2 Panstarrs flies past m10

[Dave882 (David)]

I've been itching to have another go at this comet and was encouraged by the opportunity to catch it travelling by m10 (thanks for the heads-up Glen). Last attempt was with the c14 @ 2700mm, this time I put the Hyperstar on for some shots at 740mm (much better for the starfields).

It's been about 6mths since using the Hyperstar - I was super rusty and absolutely everything was out of alignment. Unfortunately by the time I had it ready to go the nearly-full moon was beaming down on me -aint no flats that will fix full-moon reflections off a big bright red asi2600mc sitting infront of the corrector plate!!

APP doesn't have a function for stacking the comet and starfield separately, but after a bit of trial and error I found that 4x60sec subs still give a decent view without too much elongation to the core of the comet (to my eye this was nicer looking than the alternative of star trails).

My spacing / tilt was pretty rushed and definitely not right so I did a heavily cropped version that was a bit cleaner. Still i'm really glad to have managed the capture!

Thanks for dropping by!

[AstroViking (Steve)]

That's a really cool image, David - well done. Add in the conditions, and I'd say it's a near miracle you captured what you did.

Cheers,
V

[JA]

Dave, it's wonderful how you've caught then together in widefield

Originally Posted by Dave882

Unfortunately by the time I had it ready to go the nearly-full moon was beaming down on me -aint no flats that will fix full-moon reflections off a big bright red asi2600mc sitting infront of the corrector plate!!

You could try matt black paper, black felt or velvet covering the 2600mc's curved body with cut outs for the heat transfer fins, which are black anyway. Even a black sock, judiciously cut out so as not to impede air flow over the fins or through the fan.

Best
JA

[Dave882 (David)]

Thanks guys for the comments- much appreciated.

I feel like this image pretty much sums up astrophotography for me: 2weeks waiting for clear sky, 2hrs setup and calibrations, 2.5hrs data capture, final image processed using 4min of total data captured, walk away feeling stoked at the opportunity to lay eyes on some celestial beauties and ready to do it all again the next night!

JA- yes that’s a great idea actually to “flock” the camera. I’ve already disabled the red led power-on light that was shining into my image (zwo really didn’t design these things for Hyperstar)!

[Anth10 (Anthony M)]

Captivating image Dave.
Anth

[Dave882 (David)]

Cheers Anth. Pretty incredible that we have the opportunity to observe things like this. Glad you liked it!

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Nice one Dave, I thought about doing this myself but when I found out the near full moon would also be in the sky, I didn't bother planning for it. After seeing your great shot, had it not been so cloudy here in Melbourne that night, it may have been worth a go.

[Averton (P and C)]

That is one really cool image David.
A great conjunction C/2017 K2 at 1.809AU and M10 at 14,352.8ly - amazing!

[Dave882 (David)]

Thanks for the kind words! Yes the full moon was intense- it was literally casting shadows on my corrector plate as it shon on the camera/Hyperstar!! I was very pleased to walk away with a result too!

I saw somewhere that DSS has a comet / star field stacking option which I might explore. I do have another 2 or so hrs of data from the same night after all! Need to dust off my 15yr old pc to run it tho…