It’s been so long since my last good comet…Hale Bopp in 1997…
Now we have a new and superb comet before sunrise, easily visible with the naked eye.
July 8
After loosing a few days of this comet due to other activities, I’ve finally manage to get my motivation up and drove 40 kilometers from home, near a highway. To be honest, I was not prepared for this show: a nice 1.5 degrees tail rising from behind some trees almost perpendicular to the horizon. I’ve estimated the comet at around Mag 0, with a +2 nucleus, but all this in the glare of the Moon and some haze. I did however shoot the comet with two different lenses, and found the tail to be around 4 degrees in length. Also the faint ion tail was detectable. This comet starts to look similar to the 1997′ Hale Bopp…which is good 😉
The setup: a 65mm F/6.5 APO and a Canon 70-200mm L lens, both with the Canon 6D and exposure from 5 to 12 seconds at ISO 800 to 1600, all on an EQ6 mount. Such an easy comet to photograph!
Shots with the 70-200mm lens:
Shots with the 65mm APO:
And the ion tail detectable:
July 10, at sunset:
July 11, at sunset:
July 14, at sunset:
July 15, at sunrise:
July 15, at sunset:
July 16, at sunset:
July 20, at sunset:
maximus photography 