Hi Jim ... several days ago I posted in the "our beautiful Universe thread, photo and star maps for the cometjim mcnamara said:
you may have missed itcheersdavenn said:Went out last nite, 7th Dec, for the first serious observing/imaging session for a long time.
Was very disappointed, when I got to site after a long drive, that I discovered that I had grabbed the wrong scope mount drive controller.
The controllers are the same except one has a 8 pin RJ connector and the other has a 6 pin RJ connector
The scope mount I took has the 6 pin and the controller I took has the 8 pin
As a result I had no tracking ability for my imaging
I had to keep exposures short but at the focal lengths being used, there is still some trailing.
Did some serious pushing of ISO settings to compensate a bit for the short exposures
Comet 46P/Wirtanen ... a comet with a large coma ( gas/dust halo) the size of a full moon, but the overall surface brightness is
reasonably low
10sec @ f2.8, ISO 6400, 200mm focal length ( 70 - 200mm zoom) on a Canon 6D
View attachment 235378Large Magellanic Cloud
5sec @ f2.8, ISO 25600, 200mm focal length ( 70 - 200mm zoom) on a Canon 6D
View attachment 235379
cheers
Dave
Comet 46P/Wirtanen is a small comet that orbits around the Sun and was first discovered in 1948 by American astronomer Carl Wirtanen. It is part of the Jupiter family of comets and has a period of about 5.4 years.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen will make its closest approach to Earth on December 16, 2018, at a distance of about 7.2 million miles. This will make it appear brighter and larger than usual, making it visible to the naked eye.
To see Comet 46P/Wirtanen, you can go outside on the night of December 16 and look towards the eastern sky. It will appear as a faint, fuzzy object and may be difficult to spot if you live in a light-polluted area. Using binoculars or a telescope can also help in viewing the comet.
No, Comet 46P/Wirtanen is not dangerous. It will pass by Earth at a safe distance and poses no threat to our planet.
Yes, Comet 46P/Wirtanen will make another close approach to Earth in the year 2025. However, it may not be as bright and visible as it will be on December 16, 2018. It will continue to orbit the Sun and make periodic visits to our part of the solar system in the future.