Comet Neowise

[wlbragg]

I had the good fortune to see comet Neowise tonight. I've been looking for it in the evening from my back yard for the last few days with no luck. I have a lot of trees around me and I wasn't sure how low it was and exactly where to look. Turns out it was blocked by some trees in the back yard but I have a spectacular view from my front yard. This is a comet to see. Was easily seen with the naked eye. Spectacular with binoculars. The tail is really long and wide. I got a few pictures, nothing really worth posting. I need to take some time tomorrow night and get the camera set up for it.

[Thorsten]

Meh - it's the time of eternal daylight in Finland, I won't see a thing in the sky till late August. I'm envious... it would probably look spectacular in my 20 cm telescope...

[Johan G]

[...] it's the time of eternal daylight in Finland, I won't see a thing in the sky till late August.

Likely the same problem here. In addition I would have to walk for 15-45 minutes to get somewhere else than a south facing slope. Also envious.

I need to take some time tomorrow night and get the camera set up for it.

Go for it!

Do not underestimate how much better results you will get if you take one or two shots with lens cap on, and then take a series of shots. Some free software can then clean the images up form noise quite a bit. Letting the camera cool down to the surrounding temperature can also help by getting down thermal noise, but be cautious of condense when you bring it inside into the warmer and therefore more humid air. If it is a loot cooler outside it is a good Idea to let the camera stay in its bag to slowly warm up again.

A good guide can be found here:

• Andrea Minoia (22 June 2020), Astrophotography Image Post-Processing – Which Software Is the Best?, nightskypix.com

Some free software that seem to be popular:

• http://deepskystacker.free.fr/english/index.html
• http://www.astronomie.be/registax/
• https://sourceforge.net/projects/astap-program/

Apparently one can also use good old GIMP:

Davies Media Design (20 November 2019), How to Edit Astrophotography in GIMP, 18 min YouTube video.

[Alant]

Last night from here in Portugal.
The exposure was 8 seconds, during which time the earth rotated causing the stars and comets to appear as short arcs instead of points.
Canon EOS-500, 85-250 zoom lens at 260mm, f/7.1, 8 seconds, ISO-1600. The comet is invisble in the viewfinder, so I set the focus by looking at Jupiter which is bright above the opposite horizon.

Durk Talsma has some good shots on his Facebook from Belgium.

[Thorsten]

Pretty!!!

[lomar]

where is it right now? unfortunately in the southern hemisphere it will only be visible by the end of the month and until there it will probably be too far away to be spotted

[Johan G]

where is it right now?

Best illustration I have seen so far:

Comet 2020 F3-skyview by Tomruen on WIkimedia Commons / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

The yellow line seem to be the ecliptic, in essence the orbit of the Sun.

[Alant]

I used this star chart https://theskylive.com/planetarium?objects=sun-moon-c2020f3-mercury-venus-mars-jupiter-saturn-uranus-neptune-pluto&localdata=40.20564%7C-8.41955%7CCoimbra+(PT)%7CEurope%2FLisbon%7C0&obj=c2020f3&h=21&m=25&date=2020-07-19#ra|9.35539817738319|dec|47.79585663010841|fov|57 to find it.
You can easily change the location and time/date by clicking on the fields at the top left of the page.
For Brazil this looks useful. https://theskylive.com/planetarium?objects=sun-moon-c2020f3-mercury-venus-mars-jupiter-saturn-uranus-neptune-pluto&localdata=40.20564%7C-8.41955%7CCoimbra+(PT)%7CEurope%2FLisbon%7C0&obj=c2020f3&h=21&m=25&date=2020-07-19#ra|9.35539817738319|dec|47.79585663010841|fov|57
Boa sorte !

[wlbragg]

Alant, that is a really nice, clear shot. I'm hoping I get some good viewing weather tonight. It was to much overcast last night, Really high humidity. Tonight we have wind but lower humidity.

[Alant]

Best of luck !
I did not take any pictures this evening. We are in a heat wave which has lasted several weeks and the atmosphere is becoming rather dirty with dust etc. Perhaps there will be a thunderstorm to wash it clean soon. 11.30 pm and still 28 centigrade. ;(

[wlbragg]

Same here. I was just out there for an hour or so trying to get something and it is just to dirty to get anything. Over 105 today and 20-30 knot wind. Hoping it clears up in the next week.

[wlbragg]

I think my chance to get any good images of Neowise have past. Still had fun trying. Can you guess which celestial bodies these are? I'll give you one hint, they are influenced by our Sun.

[Johan G]

Can you guess which celestial bodies these are?

I would take a wild guess at Jupiter (with moons), Mars and Venus. I am hesitant in particular about the first and second image.

I'll give you one hint, they are influenced by our Sun.

Most objects within the Solar system are.

[wlbragg]

Most objects within the Solar system are.

I didn't say they were in our solar system, I called them celestial bodies.
So the hint basically was, they are in our solar system, either that or I have a really good camera.
Jupiter, Mars and Saturn. I think Saturn may be out of focus. I don't know if that blurry smudge is a moon or star or maybe a ufo.

EDIT: Or maybe it's not blurry and picked up part of the ring?

[Johan G]

[...] and Saturn.

Ah, that explains the tint. I hesitated a bit as I thought Venus probably should be whiter.

I think Saturn may be out of focus. I don't know if that blurry smudge is a moon or star or maybe a ufo.

EDIT: Or maybe it's not blurry and picked up part of the ring?

I blame our unstable atmosphere. If only there was a way to purge it.