Let's Photograph Comet 46P Wirtanen

On Tuesday, December 18, 2018 at 7:43:04 PM UTC-8, Davoud wrote:
Chris L Peterson:
http://cloudbait.com/gallery/comet/20181217_46P_800.jpg

Shot early this morning after the Moon went down, 2-minute exposure
with a Canon 7D on a 4" refractor (Stellarvue 102A). Image is 1° on a
side.

Davoud:
Very nice!

I made this stack of five exposures with a Canon 5D Mk IV on the 11th
https://www.flickr.com/photos/primeval/31330206277. I also used a 4"
refractor, a Tak FSQ-106. I have been clouded out since that night.
Tonight will be clear and it is likely my last shot at the comet as
holiday social obligations and more cloudy weather intrude on my time.
With a bright moon, I'm not expecting anything great tonight, but we
gotta try, right?

Chris L Peterson:
You bet. I'm lucky with very dry air and a high altitude that the
impact of the Moon is somewhat reduced. The image I linked I took
after the Moon set (about 2 am), but I was doing test shots before
that and the results were quite good. Getting tougher, though. The
Moon is now just 45° from the comet, and getting pretty big.

OK, the sky was remarkably clear for the Mid-Atlantic. It was dry, and
when I was checking focus with 5X and 10X magnification the stars in
the DSLR Live View they were dancing around like a water droplet on a
hot griddle. My fix for that is to ignore it, and do what I can with
what I have. The effect of the Moon, I think, was to reduce the
contrast of the coma a bit. Maybe I could doctor it a bit in Photoshop.

Tonight's result with details is at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/primeval/32503667868.

High altitude? What do you know about high altitude? I'm at 30 meters‹I
could get a nosebleed!

--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm

Well, I'm impressed!

\Paul A