Nice shot of Comet Malcholtz

Galactic2000 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-January-2005, 02:29 AM

Hi All,

Just thought I'd share my image of Comet Malcholtz with the forum,

Unfortunately, after 24 inches of snow and persistant clouds since the 23rd of December, I have not been able to image the comet since, and now that it is nearing it brightest, we will be having more rain all week.

The Comet image was taken with a Takahashi Sky 90 and an ST-10XME CCD

for a 30 second exposure on each color LRGB. 2 minutes total. on 12/11/04 U.T.

Both the Ion tail (pointing down) and the Dust tail (upper left)are visible in this photo!

Enjoy!

#2 (**permalink**) 05-January-2005, 04:00 AM

That's a really magnificent shot! If the sky clears up, I hope you'll post some more!

Fraser · #3 (**permalink**) 05-January-2005, 06:41 PM

Thanks for the great picture John, please keep sharing them. :-)

CharlesBell · #4 (**permalink**) 05-January-2005, 07:11 PM

The dust tail is very sharp and straight.

A few days ago, there were waves in the dust tail in some images I saw posted on the comet-images yahoo group.

This image shows how the ion tail does not seem to point back to the center of the comet head.

This is a fun comet to watch.

Last night I spotted it in binoculars and thought its was the blurry object directly overhead at 8 PM local and got it mixed up with nearby Peiades.
They were pretty close together, the comet just south of Pleiades and a dimmer blur in the sky.

Gneiss · #5 (**permalink**) 05-January-2005, 07:11 PM

Nice picture...

Galactic2000 · #6 (**permalink**) 05-January-2005, 07:58 PM

Hi Charles,

Yes, I noticed this on the 12/11/04 ~06:33:00 UT shot, I took three sets of color images from 06:08 to 06:38 UT.
All three raw data sets show this active sharp tail. These images are only 30 seconds long, so you will see very little blurring anyway.

I took some shots on the next night 12/12/04 UT as well, and the ion tail was not as active as on the 12/11/04. It had diminished significantly. I actually was able to confirm this when I saw some other shots taken at Kitt Peak on the same nights as well.

Shortly after that there were also some shots with wavy tails as well I beleive around the 12/17/04. Comets can be very dynamic, I remember the major disconnection event on Hyakutake's tail back in 1996, but you had to capture on that night, becuase it was gone shortly there after.

But I'm glad I was able to capture a good shot of Malcholtz, since I have not had a clear night since the Dec23rd snow storm. It raining like hell here, has been all week. Its also been raining at New Mexico Skies where I also image remotely from.

If I get time, I'll try to piece both images together side by side for us to see the difference from one night to the next.

Best Regards,
John Chumack
MPC #838 Dayton Research Station
www.galacticimages.com

Kneeknocker · #7 (**permalink**) 05-January-2005, 08:35 PM

What a fantastic picture of the comet ~ look forward to some more ~ well done

Betelgeuse · #8 (**permalink**) 05-January-2005, 09:11 PM

I love this picture so much. It's actually my desktop background! I've also printed a copy out and stuck it momenarilly on the fridge! Lovely work, I hope to see a lot more! Thank you, John!

Kind Regards
Rigel

paul f. campbell · #9 (**permalink**) 06-January-2005, 12:03 AM

Hi Galactic. There is not much more one can say about your photo of this comet, except that it is phenomenal. It's one of the best photo I have seen yet. I have been wanting to get a shot of this comet for a while now, but the weather will not permit it. Maybe soon, time will tell.

Keep the pics coming, you have shown us all what one can achieve when one tries. Yours in the way Paul F. Campbell

misty · #10 (**permalink**) 06-January-2005, 07:09 AM

Great photo of the comet, John.

Anne

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