Comet C/2014 Lovejoy Q2 images 1/19/15

Astrophotography: share your photos & discuss techniques
User avatar
Ronald Z
Posts: 203
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 9:01 am

Comet C/2014 Lovejoy Q2 images 1/19/15

Unread post by Ronald Z »

Hey friends,

Finally a break in the cold temps, clear skies so I went out early last night to capture Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2 before it fades. Had both my 16-inch Meade LB cooled down and re-collimated and my Orion 80mm Short Tube f5 400mm rich-field refractor on tripod.

Spaceweather indicated that Lovejoy Q2 is passing by the Pleaides (Seven Sisters) star cluster. Astrophotographer Alan Dyer indicated that "Lovejoy's long blue ion tail stretched back well past the Pleaides, a distance of at least 12 degrees." The comet's tail is blue because it contains ionized carbon monoxide (CO+), a gas which fluoresces blue in the near-vacuum of interplanetary space. I was able to observe the comet visually through my Orion 20mm Expanse 66 deg FOV eyepiece but, of course, colors are only captured by film or digital imaging.

I selected my best 3 images out of 125 captures. My images, attached, will show a greenish glow in the coma and tail. These four images were of various exposure lengths, untracked using my Orion 80mm ST f5 400mm refractor and my Canon 60Da. See the images attached. The image data is listed below:

Image #RZP1 WB: Daylight 3 seconds @ ISO 3200 at f5 prime focus 400mm untracked

Image #RZP2 WB: Daylight 3 seconds @ ISO 3200 at f5 prime focus 400mm untracked

Image #RZP3 WB: Daylight 6 seconds @ ISO 3200 at f5 prime focus 400mm untracked


enjoy and clear skies!
Ronald Z :P
Attachments
Image #RZP3   WB: Daylight   6 seconds @ ISO 3200  at f5   prime focus  400mm   untracked
Image #RZP3 WB: Daylight 6 seconds @ ISO 3200 at f5 prime focus 400mm untracked
Comet Lovejoy Q2 RZP3 lowres.jpg (82.31 KiB) Viewed 1422 times
Image #RZP2   WB: Daylight   3 seconds @ ISO 3200  at f5   prime focus  400mm   untracked
Image #RZP2 WB: Daylight 3 seconds @ ISO 3200 at f5 prime focus 400mm untracked
Comet Lovejoy Q2 RZP2 lowres.jpg (66.13 KiB) Viewed 1422 times
Image #RZP1   WB: Daylight   3 seconds @ ISO 3200  at f5   prime focus  400mm   untracked
Image #RZP1 WB: Daylight 3 seconds @ ISO 3200 at f5 prime focus 400mm untracked
Comet Lovejoy Q2 RZP1 lowres.jpg (65.09 KiB) Viewed 1422 times
ES AR152mm (988mm f6.5) achromatic doublet
TV 85mm (600mm f7) APO doublet
TV 60mm (360mm f6) APO doublet
TV Starbeam
TV 5X & 2.5X Powermates
TV DeLite set
Canon 60Da
Rokinon 10mm f2.8, 14mm f2.8
24mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4, 135mm f2.0
Samyang 85mm f1.4
User avatar
Ronald Z
Posts: 203
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 9:01 am

Re: Comet C/2014 Lovejoy Q2 images 1/19/15 One more image

Unread post by Ronald Z »

Hey friends,

here is my 4th image of Q2:

Image #RZP4 WB: Daylight 6 seconds @ ISO 3200 at f5 prime focus 400mm untracked

Ron Z :P
Attachments
Image #RZP4   WB: Daylight   6 seconds @ ISO 3200  at f5   prime focus  400mm   untracked
Image #RZP4 WB: Daylight 6 seconds @ ISO 3200 at f5 prime focus 400mm untracked
Comet Lovejoy Q2 RZP4 lowres.jpg (81.56 KiB) Viewed 1421 times
ES AR152mm (988mm f6.5) achromatic doublet
TV 85mm (600mm f7) APO doublet
TV 60mm (360mm f6) APO doublet
TV Starbeam
TV 5X & 2.5X Powermates
TV DeLite set
Canon 60Da
Rokinon 10mm f2.8, 14mm f2.8
24mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4, 135mm f2.0
Samyang 85mm f1.4
User avatar
AndyG
Network Admin
Posts: 1160
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:18 pm

Re: Comet C/2014 Lovejoy Q2 images 1/19/15

Unread post by AndyG »

Well done, Ron!
Andy
User avatar
Apollo XX
MSSF Coordinator
Posts: 2785
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 8:11 pm

Re: Comet C/2014 Lovejoy Q2 images 1/19/15

Unread post by Apollo XX »

Cool coma!
"The purpose of life is the investigation of the Sun, the Moon, and the heavens." - Anaxagoras
Post Reply