Comet PanSTARRS (C/2017 T2) passing near the bright galaxy pair Messier 81 (below) and Messier 82 (above) in Ursa Major on the night of May 23/24, 2020. This was the comet that in predictions from autumn 2019 was supposed to have been the highlight of May 2020, perhaps reaching naked-eye brightness, or at least be bright enough to be good for binoculars. It was visible in 15x70 binoculars this night but quite faintly as a fuzzy spot near the brighter galaxies, so about magnitude 8 at best. Comets SWAN and ATLAS for a time usurped this comet for publicity in spring 2020 but also largely failed to perform, certainly not reaching naked eye brightness. This is a stack of 8 x 8-minute exposures with the William Optics RedCat astrograph at f/4.9 (250mm focal length) and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 1600, median stacked. Guided on stars — so, yes, the comet has trailed somewhat but it is not noticeable at this image scale and the motion was in the direction of the comet length. The field here is about 8° x 5°, similar to binoculars. North is up.
Comet Wirtanen 46P on December 15, 2018 taken in the blue-sky moonlight, with the first quarter Moon still well up in the southwest, and when the comet was passing near the Pleiades star cluster, Messier 45, in Taurus. Some high cloud and haze was just beginning to move in, thwarting any further efforts to shoot the scene under darker skies later that night after moonset. The comet was nearest to Earth on this weekend, Dec 15-16, 2018. This is a stack of 2 x 90-second exposures aligned on the stars, and 2 x 30-second exposures aligned on the comet and blended in for the core of the comet coma to reduce its intensity and size. All with the 200mm Canon L lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 800. Lens focused with the Bhatinov mask. Diffraction spikes added with Astronomy Tools action, for photogenic effect. They look pretty!
The stars Cor Caroli (bottom left) and Chara (top right) in Canes Venatici, with the bright galaxy Messier 94 at top left. Cor Caroli is a bright double star but is not resolved here. This is a stack of 6 x 6-minute exposures at ISO 800 with the William Optics RedCat 51mm astrograph at f/4.9 and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 800, from home May 23. The field is 8° x 5° so similar to binoculars. North is up.
