Another collaboration between Tom Masterson and Terry Hancock
In this image taken at Grand Mesa Observatory, www.grandmesaobservatory.com. Comet C/2017 T2 takes another photo op as it passes by Galaxy Messier 106 (M106) in the night sky this past Tuesday night, June 23, 2020.

Discovered on Oct. 2, 2017 by the PanSTARRS sky survey, this comet has put on quite the show over the past couple months. Here it's seen passing within a degree from M106, a very close and beautiful event. While they might look really close to each other in this image If you were travelling at the speed of light it would take between 22 to 25 million light-years to reach M106 but only 14.5 light-minutes to reach Comet C/2017 T2.

Messier 106 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici and It’s is one of the largest and brightest nearby galaxies similar in size and luminosity to the Andromeda Galaxy.

A great write-up on Comet C/2017 T2 can be found on Universe Today at: www.universetoday.com/144774/catch-comet-t2-panstarrs-this-spring/

A real time tracker of Comet C/2017 T2 can be found here: https://theskylive.com/c2017t2-info

Wiki of M106: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_106

Technical Info:

Captured from Grand Mesa Observatory in Western Colorado on the June 23, 2020 using the QHY367 Pro C Full Frame One Shot color CMOS camera on the William Optics 156 Refractor Telescope.

Total Integration time: 2.1 hours

Image details

Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colo.
38.963365, -108.237225

Dates of capture: June 23, 10:08pm - June 24, 12:17am
Color RGGB 125 min, 20 x 300 sec, 10 x 180 sec.
Camera: QHY367 Pro C Color CMOS
Gain 2850, Offset 76
Calibrated with flat, Dark & Bias
Optics: William Optics 156 Refractor Telescope
Image Acquisition software Maxim DL6
Pre Processed in Pixinsight and Deep Sky Stacker
Post Processed in Photoshop