Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Taurus (Tau)  ·  Contains:  10.91  ·  12.16  ·  124 Alkeste  ·  128 Nemesis  ·  13 Tau  ·  13.13  ·  14 Tau  ·  16 Tau  ·  17 Tau  ·  18 Tau  ·  20 Tau  ·  22 Tau  ·  23 Tau  ·  26 Tau  ·  27 Tau  ·  28 Tau  ·  32 Tau  ·  33 Tau  ·  36 Tau  ·  37 A01 Tau  ·  39 A02 Tau  ·  41 Tau  ·  419 Aurelia  ·  43 Tau  ·  44 p Tau  ·  50 ome Tau  ·  51 Tau  ·  52 phi Tau  ·  53 Tau  ·  55 Tau  ·  And 87 more.
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Comet 46P/Wirtanen, Pleiades, and Aldebaran on 12/16/2018, JDJ
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Comet 46P/Wirtanen, Pleiades, and Aldebaran on 12/16/2018

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Comet 46P/Wirtanen, Pleiades, and Aldebaran on 12/16/2018, JDJ
Powered byPixInsight

Comet 46P/Wirtanen, Pleiades, and Aldebaran on 12/16/2018

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

I was able to image Comet 46P/Wirtanen on the night of closest approach to Earth through a few lucky breaks in the clouds. The comet appeared close to the Pleiades (M45) and bright star Aldebaran on this night. I really liked the contrast between the green comet, blue-ish Pleiades, and the red giant star. I only wish I had more time to gather data this night before the clouds shut the fun down...

Imaged with a Nikon D750, 24-120 mm Nikor lens at 100 and 120 mm/F4/ISO800, 30s and 60 s exposures. Stacked using DSS for a total integration time of 15 minutes (subtracted darks, bias, and flats). Processed in Pixinsight: Cropped, gradient removal with DBE, Background Neutralization, Color Calibration, stretched using Histogram Transformation Tool, Curves Transformation, HDR Multiscale Transform, and ACDNR noise reduction.

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Revisions

  • Comet 46P/Wirtanen, Pleiades, and Aldebaran on 12/16/2018, JDJ
    Original
  • Comet 46P/Wirtanen, Pleiades, and Aldebaran on 12/16/2018, JDJ
    B
  • Final
    Comet 46P/Wirtanen, Pleiades, and Aldebaran on 12/16/2018, JDJ
    C

B

Description: Re-processed original images using new flats and incorporating comet stacking in DSS after learning about that option on CloudyNights. Re-stacked images in DSS using Stars+Comet stacking approach.

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C

Description: Figured out how to adjust color saturation in PI.

Uploaded: ...

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

Comet 46P/Wirtanen, Pleiades, and Aldebaran on 12/16/2018, JDJ