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comet c/2023 A3 10/12/24 from Anza, CA

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#1 bill w

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Posted 15 October 2024 - 12:16 AM

drove out to a desert-ish location to avoid the coastal clouds on saturday:

C2023A3-2024-10-12_7_24-PM-1000w.jpg

 

Nikon D850

2.5 sec @ f/4.5 ISO 1600 55 mm

 

full details, larger image and time lapse at my blog

 

cheers


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#2 curiousastro

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Posted 15 October 2024 - 12:27 AM

Beautiful

#3 groom

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Posted 15 October 2024 - 09:51 AM

Nice image, Bill!

#4 RMay

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Posted 15 October 2024 - 10:06 AM

Beautiful image… we saw Halley from Anza Borrego SP back in 1986. Hope the sky is just as dark now as it was then - probably Bortle 1 or 2, but almost 40 years ago…

Ron

#5 bill w

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Posted 15 October 2024 - 11:08 AM

thanks for the comments

Ron this was from Anza, about an hour north of Anza Borrego.

not as dark as it used to be, but much better than the coast with better chance of clear skies and decent transparency.

have had a few spectacular nights there when the coast is socked in with clouds that cover the light domes

 

Beautiful image… we saw Halley from Anza Borrego SP back in 1986. Hope the sky is just as dark now as it was then - probably Bortle 1 or 2, but almost 40 years ago…

Ron

 


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#6 CollinofAlabama

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Posted 15 October 2024 - 11:21 AM

Well, I don't have anything like that.  Gosh, Bill W, that's a very NICE shot.  Still, my daughter, with her iPhone 14Plus, snapped this off last night from the eastern edge of an elementary school here in West Texas.  I'm pretty proud of her.

 

Venus-CPMtn-Arc.jpg

 

Venus to the lower left, Comet Purple Mountain, and Arcturus to the upper right made a low arc across the sky last night (arc to Arcturus, right?) about 20:15, October 14th, 2024.

 

Filling out the heavenly host, from above Venus Acrab (Beta Scorpii) and Subik (eta Ophiuchi) shine more faintly, and moving to the right (north) one sees Han (zeta Ophiuchi), Yed Posterior and Yed Prior in Ophiuchus, then, above the Comet, Unukalhai (alpha Serpentis).  Hanging about in the north above Arcturus are Izar (epsilon Boötis) and higher up still Alphekka (alpha Coronae Borealis).  I suspect the brightest star the highest up in the photo, and to the left of Alphekka is Kornephoros (beta Herculis), with very faint gamma Herculis below and further to the left of Kornephoros.  If you really want to test your vision, you can just make out Serpens head and one star of his neck, but you're squinting at gnats beside our esteemed visitor, Comet Purple Mountain.

 

Enjoy the view, folks.  Weather is an awful temporary friend, so get out and see this when you can.  I don't recall a naked eye comet since Machholz in the winter of 2005.  Could be wrong about that, but I'm not much of a fan of dawn comets (I like to sleep in and am too much the night owl).  Neowise was nice, but never saw it without my telescope or a pair of binoculars.  But this one pretty much appears as this handheld iPhone shot demonstrates.  Perhaps not Hale-Bopp caliber, but delightful just the same.


Edited by CollinofAlabama, 15 October 2024 - 05:14 PM.

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#7 bill w

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Posted 15 October 2024 - 11:47 AM

Well, I don't have anything like that.  Gosh, Bill W, that's a very NICE shot.  Still, my daughter, with her iPhone 14Plus, snapped this off last night from the eastern edge of an elementary school here in West Texas.  I'm pretty proud of her.

as well you should be.  excellent shot.  must have dark skies with nice transparency despite the field lights


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#8 CollinofAlabama

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Posted 17 October 2024 - 10:25 AM

Comet Purple Mountain has moved from "good" to "good to so-so" comets in my book.  It was good on Monday night the 14th -- naked eye with a bit of careful looking, but that was not true last night.  Here are some more pictures from Monday the 14th, besides the one above -- my daughter took them all, handheld

 

handheld-MAS-14th.jpg

 

CometHunters_mejor.jpg


Edited by CollinofAlabama, 17 October 2024 - 11:53 AM.

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#9 CollinofAlabama

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Posted 17 October 2024 - 10:37 AM

But this is what I got last night.  Admittedly, under a huge, 14-day-6-hour waxing gibbous moon, but the moon was 4-¼ days past First Quarter on Monday, so hardly non-existent, although I do confess the sky was noticeably brighter last night.  Still, the comet is one of two smudges (the other, both, clouds?).  My handheld of the comet below here, both this shot and my daughter's through my AT 80ED with the AT28UWA for 4.25º TFOV at 19.6x.  I'm gonna say Comet Purple Mountain had promise, but faded long before greatness.  Good for a day or two, naked eye.  Still a good photographic target, perhaps, but far from the Hale-Bopp status it hinted at on Monday.  C'est la vie.

 

Venus-Arc-16th.jpg

 

handheld-CDS-16th.jpg


Edited by CollinofAlabama, 17 October 2024 - 11:54 AM.

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#10 bill w

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Posted 29 October 2024 - 01:24 AM

tried stacking to get the anti-tail, no luck :(

C2023A3-2024-10-12-ave-crop-1000px.jpg

 

more details at the blog

https://astrowhw.blo...as-wrap-up.html


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#11 Erik Bakker

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Posted 29 October 2024 - 05:23 AM

Comets are all about clear skies and persistency. Wonderful images!

 

And very nice to see a youngster making these wonderful hand held images with her iPhone. She did really well like-button.jpg


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#12 Erik Bakker

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Posted 29 October 2024 - 09:09 AM

And perhaps even more important, she got to see this wonderful naked eye comet for herself!

 

Not many comets will stand less than perfect condtions for naked eye viewing.


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