orion25

Brilliant!

22 minutes ago, scotty1 said:

Lucky gaps for Mars, but tonight is awful seeing. Could barely see the Pleiades or Mars. Very hazy and humid, and some saharan dust likely too. 

 

I like how you documented the progression of the comet with your photos over time, very similar to my experience.

Great shots, especially the ones with Mars. I was clouded out that night. I'm glad you got some images!

Reggie

I was clouded out the night the comet was closest to Mars on the 10th but I was able to get an image two nights later, as it was placed roughly midway between Mars and Aldebaran:

It had dimmed considerably,  approaching 7th magnitude, and was barely visible through my binoculars and 6-in reflector. It's heading for the Hyades over the next few days and should make for a nice image.

Two for one! Awesome!

Wow! That's a great image, Richard. The comet is really moving fast!

Reggie

Auriga made the comet a much easier target on the nights of February 6-8. On the 6th, the comet was speeding through the "Kids" asterism in Auriga and passed close to Iota Aurigae on the 8th:

I was shooting through the plane of the galaxy (looking toward outer space), hence, the especially starry backdrop.
Equipment Nikon D3200/127mm Mak at prime focus - ISO Hi, single 10s exposure

Same setup, ISO 3200, single 20s exposure, two nights later...

Clear skies!

Reggie ☄️

Not a bad image at all! 👍

Bravo! Thanks for sharing your effort

Brilliant image, especially with such a speedy object!

Crackin' image and animation! It's awesome seeing ZTF on the move!

Great animation! That comet is really n the move!

Here is a longer animation of the long period comet C/2022 E3 ZTF as it zooms through our solar system:

https://youtu.be/rW_E_kcOLJE

The animation included 31 30s subs shot at ISO 800.

Here is a quick animation of Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF from four 15s exposures taken over a three-minute period to show its steady trajectory through our solar system. Images were taken on January 31, 2023, the night before perigee. At this point, the comet was about 26 million miles from Earth.

https://youtu.be/-o5GG2YFHg0

Awesome!

Magnificent work! You really captured the awesomeness of C/2022 E3 ZTF!

Absolutely stunning, Paul!

I saw Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF visually for the first time through binoculars and my 127mm Mak before dawn! Presently, it's near the bowl of the Little Dipper and similar in brightness to M13. It has become an evening object as well. Perigee is less than a week away (Feb.1) so now is the time to see it. Here are some images, taken at prime focus, ISO 6400, single 10s & 30s exposures:

Clear skies!

Reggie 🤩

Informative video! Thanks for posting; I saw the comet visually (as opposed to via imaging) for the first time this morning not far from the bowl of the Little Dipper. It was a distinctly fuzzy, colorless object through the bins and maybe a hint of color through my 127mm Mak at low power. My image was truly cometary as it captured the hauntingly green glow and some of the ion tail! Much brighter and larger than last week; I can't wait until perigee!

4 hours ago, RobertI said:

Good catches Reggie. 👍

Cheers, Rob!

The title says it all, in prime focus with my 127mm Mak:

Clear skies!

Reggie 🤩

Great shot! 

Reggie

2 hours ago, IB20 said:

I’ve finally bagged it. Three nights of trying and even tonight failing with the 15x bins. They prepared me well when I swapped over to the 76DCQ as I was I knew exactly where to look after pretty much memorising the star patterns in the area.

Wow, it’s very, very red but I’m not surprised I’ve struggled to find it, it’s really dim. Increasing the mag only made it dimmer and reduced colouration. I found 25mm @ ~38x was the optimum to both see the star well with diffraction rings and absolute ruby red colouration.

Feels like a real achievement bagging this observation. Now I know it can be done I will check up on it annually.

This little Tak never lets me down 😁.

That's great! Congratulations! I surmised that it must be in its dimmest phase at this time. I usually can see it pretty easily since I know the area so well.

Awesome capture! I'm waiting for it close in on Polaris and become an evening object. It should be in good position and magnitude at perigee!

5 hours ago, Littleguy80 said:

I haven’t observed this recently but, from previous experience, when it’s in the brighter part of the cycle it’s not quite as red. When it’s dimmer the colour is almost traffic light red. When it’s like this, making the initial spot can be tricky but there’s no doubt in your mind once you have seen it. I wonder whether dark adaptation might be disadvantage for this star as it’s the colour you’re looking for. 

Interesting point. I've found that dark adaptation actually helped me to see the color as well as the star itself; my eyes become more sensitive to both the dim light and the hue.