5 replies to this topic

[BQ Octantis]

The sky cleared up this afternoon. But there were alternating bands of pink and blue across the sky from some high level clouds at sunset…so I almost didn't bother going out. Still, I keep feeling like C/2023 A3 is getting close to the end of its visibility from suburbia. So I chanced a view through the binos…and it was there!

 

The coma was centered within a hexagonal asterism anchored to 67 Ophiuchi, which is 5° to the 10 o'clock from β Ophiuchi. The 200mm did the scene some reasonable justice (after some extensive manual LP and stray light gradient removal):

 

C/2023 A3 2024-11-01 (click for full size)

Canon 200mm f/2/8L II, Canon 600D/T3i, 56×30sec

 

Hopefully I'll get around to processing the 50mm data in short order…

 

Cheers,

 

BQ

Edited by BQ Octantis, 02 November 2024 - 10:33 AM.

[BQ Octantis]

Well there's a whole lotta Melottes!

 

A Whole Lotta Melottes (click for full size)

 

Cheers,

 

BQ

[Kiwi Paul]

Turned out pretty nice. Judging by the nearby brighter stars which I recognise, the tail in your image looks to be 4-5 degrees long.
Cheers Paul

[BQ Octantis]

Thanks Paul!

 

The apparent size of the tail in an image is always subject to the stretch applied—particularly if you're trying to stay under the noise. But if I stretch the luminosity channel to the max, you can see that the tail stretches out to touch a 4-star C-shaped asterism anchored by HIP 90547. That would put it at about 6°:

 

(Click for full size)

 

Per Stellarium, the coma will still be within the hexagon for me tonight. It'll be exiting the hexagon when you can catch it again…

 

BQ

Edited by BQ Octantis, 02 November 2024 - 05:50 PM.

[Erik Bakker]

Once again, very nice image with the 50mm of the fading comet on November 1st. Visually, I could see a tail of around 2 degrees in my 10x70 and 18x70 binoculars yesterday evening, November 2nd.

 

On this comet, I like the perspective a 50mm gives a lot.

[BQ Octantis]

Thanks Erik!

 

The tail is quite deceptive visually—particularly in my Bortle 6 sky. I also took another look at it at nightfall last night (~00:00 UTC 3 Nov), and the coma was near the edge of the aforementioned hexagon. But through the binoculars, the tail didn't extend beyond the hexagon at all—so no wider than 1°.

 

BQ