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Comet vs Moon

Comet
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Sean Richardson avatar
Sean Richardson avatar
I was lucky enough to finally get my chance at the comet last week when there was no moon. January was a very rough month only giving me about 2 clear nights. 

I would love to get out there again tonight because February was nice and gave me a clear night but it’s always something and tonight it’ll be the moon. 

So what does everyone think, will tonight even be worth it? Or do you think the moon will wash away all those nice details in the tail of the comet?

Good luck everyone!
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Jonathan W MacCollum avatar
Jonathan W MacCollum avatar
If the skies are clear, it's always worth taking the data to me. If something exciting happens and no one took pics at the time, no one will ever know. smile

Can always discard the data afterwards if it isn't appealing to process.
TurtleCat avatar
TurtleCat avatar
I have been in a similar circumstance in January. Tonight is the first clear night (predicted) in a long while. I'll be taking images of the comet before I put a filter on and do my regular narrowband stuff. In my area the comet is far enough away from the moon that it's worth it to me. Not ideal, of course, but only so many opportunities before it's gone from my skies. I guess I have set my expectations accordingly and am not expecting an image of the day result.
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Sean Richardson avatar
Sean Richardson avatar
While the night was clear I did get my butt out there. I was a little nervous when I arrived at my location to see just how close the moon was but I set my stuff up and went to work. 

I have to be honest I am pretty happy with the data. I did a rough stack last night just to see the details in the tail and I think it looks even better than my shot from last week with zero moon. I mean it definitely needs much more TLC but I’m looking forward to the finished result.

Stay tuned!
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Tomás Andonie avatar
Tomás Andonie avatar
It's great that this shot turned out better for you. Definitely when in doubt it is better to try.
I am in a similar position here in the southern hemisphere. The moon is almost full, and I will only have about 40mins before it appears over the horizon. Even though it is far from the comet, I also have my doubts and fears about it. But will have to try.

May I ask how far or close you were to the moon from the comet? And what phase was it in?

CS
Andonie
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Sean Richardson avatar
Sean Richardson avatar
only so many opportunities before it's gone from my skies


Exactly. While I would love a great image I will be happy as long as I got the chance at this point. Long story short, I missed out on Neowise and Leonard so there was no way I was going to let this one pass by without an attempt! Good luck with your image of the comet
Sean Richardson avatar
Sean Richardson avatar
Tomás Andonie:
May I ask how far or close you were to the moon from the comet? And what phase was it in?


Someone can correct me here if I am wrong and I don't know the exact number they were apart in degrees but this is the rough Az/Alt for the moon and the comet that night

Moon: 142° / +72°
Comet: 10° / +61°

All I can say is it was way close for comfort trying to shoot in LRGB for me. These things don't come often and it's a once and a lifetime chance at this one so why not, if it's clear there's not much to lose.

Here is a preview of the stacked photos from both nights. The images are just calibrated and then comet aligned just so I could see the detail. I believe the first image I did remove the stars before integrating. I will be doing that eventually with the second image as well.
Tom Boyd avatar
Tom Boyd avatar
It has been since the beginning of November since I've had a chance to collect new data. Went out last night and collected comet data using an L-Pro filter and 294mc camera. Would it have been better without the moon - absolutely. But, in the end worked just fine. Go out and give it a try…