Stargazing Comet 46P/Wirtanen Visible to Naked Eye Dec 16

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Comet 46P/Wirtanen will be closest to Earth on December 16, making it potentially visible to the naked eye. Observers have noted its large coma, comparable in size to the full moon, although its surface brightness is relatively low. One user shared their recent experience attempting to photograph the comet but faced equipment issues that affected their imaging quality. They used high ISO settings to compensate for short exposure times, resulting in some trailing in their images. The discussion highlights the excitement surrounding the comet's visibility and the challenges of astrophotography.
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jim mcnamara said:
On Dec 16 it will be the closest to Earth in its orbit, should be visible to the naked eye.
https://ksby.com/news/2018/12/09/brightest-comet-of-2018-to-pass-the-closest-to-earth-in-december
Hi Jim ... several days ago I posted in the "our beautiful Universe thread, photo and star maps for the comet :smile:

davenn 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 :frown: :rolleyes:

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
you may have missed itcheers
Dave
 
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Clearly I did miss it. Thanks for the update.
 
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