Comet C/2015 V2 (Johnson)

[Davide Simonetti]

A composite image of Comet C/2015 V2 (Johnson) taken in the early hours of April 9th as it travelled between the constellations Hercules and Draco - processed twice in order to show the comet on a background of sharp stars (for purely aesthetic reasons). Because it appears as such a slow moving comet and is more distant than Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, it was possible to take much longer exposures which is something of a luxury.

48 minutes and 45 seconds total integration time
39 x 75 second exposures at 400 ISO
40 x dark frames
31 x flat frames
21 x bias/offset frames (subtracted from flat frames only)

Captured with APT
Guided with PHD2
Processed in Nebulosity and Photoshop

Equipment:
Sky-Watcher Explorer-150PDS
Skywatcher EQ5 Mount
Orion 50mm Mini Guide Scope
ZWO ASI120 MC imaging and guiding camera
Canon 700D DSLR

[laudropb]

Very nice capture.

[Yoddha]

Beautiful image!