Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks

[inFINNity Deck]

Just found this thread. My last chance to image the comet was almost a week ago on the 24th around 19:43UTC:

Imaging done in RGB using a SkyWatcher Esprit 80ED, ZWO EFW with ZWO RGB filters and ZWO ASI1600MM Pro Cool. Twenty subs of 15 seconds were collected per channel while a force 5-6Bft wind was pestering my set-up head-on, causing quite a few subs to be useless. Unguided tracking was done on the comet using a 10Micron GM3000HPS mount. Processing in APP both on the comet and on the stars, then recombined. Sadly enough clouds arrived at the moment I wanted to shoot luminance, so I decided to use the blue channel as luminance instead.

Nicolàs

[PeterW]

Probably my last  attempt to see it before it rounds the sun, thin cloud moving through, not sure which direction. Pons brooks is just below right of hamal, quite easy in my 10x50, diffuse spot, but no obvious tail. Glad to have seen.

 

Peter

[andrew63]

Same for me, very poor conditions and haze just showing in 8x42 close to the right of Hamel. Managed a poor shot through trees and amazed to think been watching this comet since Nov. when it was high up in a dark sky!  

[Captain Scarlet]

Finally managed to get the weather to see it. Quite obvious tail through both 15x56 bins and at 36x through 105 scope.

Magnus

[inFINNity Deck]

Tonight had had another chance. Again weather was not quite cooperative. First I had to wait for the clouds to disappear, then, 10 minutes after imaging started, fog started to form. Luckily my observatory is 7 metres above ground level, so not too much issue there for the first five minutes, but it kept me from shooting luminance. Same processing as above. The bright star is Hamal.

Nicolàs

 

Edited March 31 by inFINNity Deck
Rotated the image 180 degrees to show the comet as it would have been seen through binos.

[scotty1]

5 hours ago, inFINNity Deck said:

Tonight had had another chance. Again weather was not quite cooperative. First I had to wait for the clouds to disappear, then, 10 minutes after imaging started, fog started to form. Luckily my observatory is 7 metres above ground level, so not too much issue there for the first five minutes, but it kept me from shooting luminance. Same processing as above. The bright star is Hamal.

Nicolàs

 

Awesome 🧐

[scotty1]

Saturday 30th March 

A couple more from the backyard. Single 20s exposures ISO 1600-6400 

 

Edited March 31 by scotty1

[IB20]

2 hours ago, scotty1 said:

Saturday 30th March 

A couple more from the backyard. Single 20s exposures ISO 1600-6400 

 

Something very pleasing about the aerial and roof shots. Reminds me of my own back yard conditions, sometimes you just gotta get eyes or equipment on an object, whatever it takes!

[Telescope40]

Finally. Caught up  with Comet Pons-Brooks last night with my Canon 10x30 IS binos last night. Much easier than I was thinking. Happy camper. 🙂😃  John  

[cozendon]

I managed to see the comet through my 8x42 binoculars as a point of light. Then, my 70mm National Geographic picked up a faint smudge in the correct position so very happy. I'm looking forward to seeing it, hopefully, again tonight.

[Littleguy80]

Pons-Brooks was nothing short of spectacular this evening. Looked amazing through the 4” frac and 10” dob. The tail prominent in both. My best look at it to date. Grab a few snaps with my DSLR too which I’ll need to process. I really love comets!

[John]

1 minute ago, Littleguy80 said:

Pons-Brooks was nothing short of spectacular this evening. Looked amazing through the 4” frac and 10” dob. The tail prominent in both. My best look at it to date. Grab a few snaps with my DSLR too which I’ll need to process. I really love comets!

Sounds lovely Neil !

It's a pity that this comet is really badly placed for me. I've managed to catch it with binoculars and my 4 inch refractor a couple of weeks back but the part of the sky that it is currently in is just about the hardest for me to get a clear view of from home.

No opportunity to take a scope somewhere else currently so I'm having to enjoy it vicariously through reports such as yours 🙂

 

[Littleguy80]

3 minutes ago, John said:

Sounds lovely Neil !

It's a pity that this comet is really badly placed for me. I've managed to catch it with binoculars and my 4 inch refractor a couple of weeks back but the part of the sky that it is currently in is just about the hardest for me to get a clear view of from home.

No opportunity to take a scope somewhere else currently so I'm having to enjoy it vicariously through reports such as yours 🙂

 

Thanks John! Sorry to hear you can’t catch it where you are now. It’s really reached the point of looking like a proper comet. My 12 year old son took a look and knew what he was looking at  

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

I managed another view on Saturday evening @ approx. 1945. This time with 15x70 binoculars. Considering the view to the west is dominated by awful light pollution from Liverpool city centre and Hamal is one of the very few naked eye stars I can see in the direction, the obvious fuzz with a bright core was a surprise.

[inFINNity Deck]

Yesterday I had another chance, this time it stayed long enough clear to shoot 20 x 15s subs in RGB and 60 x 15s luminance. Processing was thus now done with luminance instead of the blue channel as luminance. Capturing done between 19:35UTC and 20:08UTC with the SkyWatcher Esprit 80ED and ZWO ASI1600MM Pro Cool. Unguided tracking on the comet.

P12/Pons-Brooks was at that time just south of Hamal in the constellation Aries at a distance of 241 million kilometres from Earth (1.611AU). The bright star in the end of its tail is HIP10657, the one at the left is HIP10795.

Nicolàs

 

Edited April 2 by inFINNity Deck
typo

[Jeff-Colorado]

Got my first decent look tonight with 12x70 binoculars here in Colorado. Nice fuzzy greenish blob with a hint of a tail in Bortle 6 skies before the sky darkened completely (or as much as it does in Bortle 6 skies).

I hope to get a better look this weekend with my 8SE.

[Nakedgun]

~

03 APR 24

Pons-Brooks in Tasco No.216 10x50s. It was brighter tonight than my 21 MAR 24 sighting of it. M45 was perfectly framed with the Tasco bino.

Also had a look at the comet through my Zanzutsu (Japan) 60mm f/13. M42/Trap also viewed. The Pup undetectable through it, however.

 

 

. 

[scotty1]

A brief clear gap Wednesday 3rd from the backyard with phone

 

Seems to be having another outburst again. 

https://earthsky.org/tonight/12-p-comet-pons-brooks-outburst-millennium-falcon-bright-2024-eclipse/

https://www.spaceweather.com/ (April 4th Archive) 

Edited April 5 by scotty1

[scotty1]

Saturday April 6th 

A gap in the cirrus for 5 mins allowed a couple of shots this evening. It wasn't really dark enough, but the clouds thickened up again before dark. Thin clouds and a bit of editing on the phone has bloated Jupiter. 

zoom at 120mm APSC

 

Edited April 6 by scotty1

[scotty1]

Mostly clear skies yesterday evening.

The Comet is harder to photograph now as it sinks lower at dusk. 

 

Edited April 8 by scotty1

[PeterW]

Waves it good but in the twilight with my 15x70 yesterday.

Peter

[inFINNity Deck]

7 hours ago, scotty1 said:

Mostly clear skies yesterday evening.

The Comet is harder to photograph now as it sinks lower at dusk.

 

Nice to also see the Jovian moons that clearly in above image!

Nicolàs

[andrew63]

Very low down this evening, visible in binoculars as a hazy patch after 9. This shows the comet around 9.20 just above the mountain line between house and tree, with a bright Jupiter.  

[Mark at Beaufort]

Saw the Comet very low down. I used my 90mm frac with correct image diagonal and my 150p newt with the 3-8mm SvBony to get close up. Only saw the head no tail.

[scotty1]

Sinking into the murk yesterday evening April 9th.  Probably the last chance to photograph it.

The crescent moon will be in conjunction with the comet tonight, the weather forecast is not good though hereabouts.

Edited April 10 by scotty1