Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Boötes (Boo)  ·  Contains:  Solar system body or event
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Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), January 15, 2023, mhtandy
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Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), January 15, 2023

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), January 15, 2023, mhtandy
Powered byPixInsight

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), January 15, 2023

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Description

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), three days after perihilion.

This is my first attempt at imaging a comet, and what a beast they are to process! I knew there would be some movement of the comet relative to the stars, but I was amazed at how much movement there was in less than an hour. I wanted to capture more of the ion tail, and will probably go back and reprocess this a few different ways to see if I can bring that out a little better.

Acquisition Details:
Lights: 195 X 15"
Darks: 59
Flats: 35
Dark flats: 35

I used DeepSkyStacker's comet stacking routine to get a stacked image tracking the stars only, and a second stack tracking just the comet. Both were processed first in Pixinsight (linear processing and curves stretch), then combined in Photoshop using "Lighten" blending mode. There were still some star streak artifacts left over that I had to manually work on, but couldn't get rid of completely.

I'd like to try this again when the comet makes its closest pass to Earth in the beginning of February - if we have Clear Skies, that is.

Clear Skies,
Mark

Comments

Revisions

  • Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), January 15, 2023, mhtandy
    Original
  • Final
    Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), January 15, 2023, mhtandy
    D

D

Description: Slight additional curves stretch

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Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), January 15, 2023, mhtandy