Imaging Challenge #21 - Comet 46P

[Grant]

The theme for the 21st challenge - December 2018 - is Comet 46P!

Start Date: 1st December 2018
End Date: 28th February 2019

Rules: This is a special challenge to coincide with Comet 46P. We want to see videos, time lapses, diagrams, sketches and anything else you can come up with! 

Prize: A personalised mug for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places featuring your image kindly provided by our sponsors FLO  and a virtual trophy for your signature.

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RULES

All data must be captured and processed by you (no collaborative entries). 
Data must be captured during the challenge start & end dates. 
Multiple entries are allowed but please start a new topic for each entry. 
Multiple submissions of the same image, processed differently, will not be accepted.

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To enter please start a new topic with your image in the ‘Imaging Challenge #21' forum (each challenge will have it’s own). Please post as much information as possible - when it was taken, how it was captured and processed, etc. The info won't necessarily be used for judging but will help fellow SGLers looking to learn and improve their knowledge and technique.

[JOC]

I've never heard of this comet.  Is it a 'naked eye' object or will it need a magnifier of some description?  Also will it be easily findable?

[Stu]

4 minutes ago, JOC said:

I've never heard of this comet.  Is it a 'naked eye' object or will it need a magnifier of some description?  Also will it be easily findable?

It depends on your skies really, it is mag 4 ish but large and diffuse, some people are reporting naked eye sightings from darker skies. Should in theory be easy enough in binos but I have failed a couple of times, last night with the 72mm frac. Need a bit more 'ammo', might try the 7" next.

Easy enough to locate, map attached. The BinocularSky newsletter also has a map in this month's edition.

[Scooot]

14 minutes ago, JOC said:

I've never heard of this comet.  Is it a 'naked eye' object or will it need a magnifier of some description?  Also will it be easily findable?

There’s quite a few interesting threads in the Imaging Widefield section that are worth looking at.

[Davey-T]

2 hours ago, JOC said:

I've never heard of this comet.  Is it a 'naked eye' object or will it need a magnifier of some description?  Also will it be easily findable?

Depends on your eyes and your skies, I couldn't see it naked eye from a dark site last night with a good clear sky but found it with binoculars, it's fairly easy to find with binoculars  now it's brightened a bit and heading steadily northwards past some easy to find objects.

On the 16th it will pass between the Hyades and the Pleiades.

Dave

[Demonperformer]

3 hours ago, Davey-T said:

On the 16th it will pass between the Hyades and the Pleiades.

So that should guarantee cloud/rain/snow/hurricanes/...

[Vixen4eva]

Forecast here looks dire......no surprise really its the UK!! :( I`ve yet to get a glimpse

[Demonperformer]

According to clearoutside it will be 13% cloud until 5pm then 100% all night. Are they trying to be funny?

Edited December 11, 2018 by Demonperformer

[Pete Presland]

Excellent category, it's putting on a pretty good show so far.

[happy-kat]

My weather forecast is dire for the entire long range forecast so dived out for the 1 hour it might have been clear tonight only it turned out to be more like 30 minutes taken to pretty much by setup. Ho hum will have to wait for next time.

[Demonperformer]

On the evening of 23rd, it is passing within less than 1 degree of Capella.

[happy-kat]

So lucky it has just been clear so dashed outside and managed to capture it and see it in the binoculars. It is a much larger diffuse area then Lovejoy.

[happy-kat]

Interesting the skies tonight were super murky for me and I discover the new 64Bit DSS comet mode doesn't let me free select the comet, so will try the older 3.4.4 to see if that version does.

Edit: haha I had forgotten to hold down the shift key to enable free movement, now remembered so will try a new stack with comet marked.

Edited December 13, 2018 by happy-kat

[jjosefsen]

I got an hour and a half last night on this thing, in very windy conditions.. But to hell with it! My first comet! ?

[Nojus]

this evening captured P46

[Nojus]

and some other flying object..

Edited December 17, 2018 by Nojus

[happy-kat]

That's great capture, but you need to start a thread for your image in the comet forum. 

[happy-kat]

Looking at the weather and the comet starts to descend on Sunday I'll just keep trying to improve what I have by reprocessing.

[happy-kat]

I did manage to get data Monday Christmas Eve but it was quite foggy, still processing it but looking ahead I may be all our for trying as it goes to the West where I'm limited in view. 

[NovaTJ]

Imaged on December 17, 1:30am EST US. 50, one minute exposures processed in Pixinsight and turned into a GIF format with PIPP, Canon 50Da, Astrotech at72ed scope piggybacked on my at8in.

 

Edited December 30, 2018 by NovaTJ

[happy-kat]

@NovaTJ hi you need to start a new thread in the imaging challenge 21 forum to put your picture in, this thread this is for discussion of the challenge.

[NovaTJ]

I saw the other images, so I thought I was in the right place.

[happy-kat]

Just sharing my frustration. Have processed the comet on a suppressed background and it is good to use. Just processed my stars with a healed comet area and Capella, all ready and layered in with my stars and ready to put my comet in too only and the comet dimensions do not match, ARGH.

I had forgotten to bin it so easy to fix and try again, though really I should process the comet again binned first after crop.

Edited January 2, 2019 by happy-kat

[happy-kat]

Will i make it, only processed 5.5 images of 11 that will make a small animation... Stuff keeps getting in the way. End date in looming.