COMET C/2021 A1 LEONARD NEAR PHECDA

Location:  Prince of Wales, NB, Canada

Date Time:  November 11, 2021 0245-0434hrs

Weather:  Steady north west wind in Saint John, but it was just the slightest of air movement in POW.  Very dark, clear, a very cold 0C with 60% humidity and windchill.  One bird chirped about halfway through observing, which is the first time I've heard any sign of life there in a long time.

Attendance:  David McCashion

Equipment:  Canon Rebel t3, 80 ed/apo, and images processed with PhotoShop.

Objective:  To image Magnitude 10.5 Comet 2021 A1 Leonard, which was reported to be in Ursa Major, about seven degrees to the west of Alula Borealis, in the early morning sky.  Many amateur astronomers are expecting this comet to brighten significantly in December of this year.  Perihelion is supposed to be on January 3rd 2022, where it will be 0.615 AU from the Sun.

Report:

• Star hopped from Megrez and Phecda, main asterism stars of Ursa Major, to the comet.  Comet was around 20 degrees south east of Phecda, towards Denebola, so it's not in this image of  the area surrounding Phecda.  I found this area interesting because of it's abundance of galaxies.  From Richard Hinckley Allen's, Star Names Their Lore and Meaning, Phecda, spelled "Phacd, Phachd, Phad, Phaed, Phecda, Phekda, and Phegda are from Al Falidh, the Thigh, where this star is located in the figure."
  

Comet is not in this image.  Single shot, 30 second, ISO 3200.

• From the observing site in Prince of Wales, there is always a degree of light pollution in the north eastern sky, so it was important to wait until the comet rose above it, which by 0330hrs, it did.  I was surprised with how bright the comet was, as it immediately popped out, in my first overexposed 30 second image.  Showing a tail, and a bright central region, but was not exactly where the sky chart showed it was suppose to be.

Single shot, 30 second, ISO 3200.  Image cropped and enhanced.

Inverted image.

• I was going to try for the three other comets, comets 67P, 29P, and comet c/2019 L3 Atlas, which were up at this time and were within my brightness range, but they were straight overhead by 0400hrs.  This makes imaging practically impossible for my equipment.
  
• No satellites were seen, but a faint, fast meteor was seen, straight over-head, heading east.
  

 

 

 

COMET 6P, and TWO NEBULAS

 Location:  Prince of Wales, NB, Canada

Date Time:  November 5, 2021 2000-2130hrs

Weather:  No clouds, no wind, very cool, 0c with 60% humidity.

Attendance:  David McCashion

Equipment:  Canadian Telescopes 80ED/APO with Canon Rebel t3 attached at prime focus.  Images processed with PhotoShop.

Objective:  To image magnitude 10.1 Comet 6P d'Arrest, which was reported to be below Jupiter and Saturn, in Microscopium, in the south western sky during observing time.

Report:

• A nearly perfectly still, quite, moonless, dark night.  Less then a tenth of the airplane traffic as before the pandemic started.
  
• Jupiter and Saturn shining brightly in the south west, the summer triangle hanging high overhead, to the west.
• Made first attempt for 6P right away.  Found that it didn't pop out in images, although I thought I could make out a fuzz ball.  The comet was less then 10 degrees above the south west horizon, just above the tree line, which is very low, and not good for observing or imaging comets.  Decided to slew to Vega to adjust focus.
• After adjusting focus on Vega, decided to image the nearby Ring Nebula M57, in Lyra the Harp.  The image appeared as a stunningly colorful ball of teal green light appeared in view screen.  Shocking that such a thing can be imaged thus.  Visually it appears as a magnitude 8.8, grayish smoke ring, which is in itself amazing to see...in images, it looks absolutely stunning, nothing like visually imo.  The Nebula is shown next to the variable star Sheliak, which ranges in brightness from 3.4 to 4.5.  According to Richard Hinckley Allen's "Star Names Their Lore and Meaning," Sheliak is an Arabian name for Lyra.  Hinckly also suggests that the proper name of Vega is Wega.  "Wega, less correctly Vega, originated in the Alfonsine Tables from the Waki of the Arabs, Bayer,having both titles; Scaliger, Waghi,..."
  

Single shot, 45 second, ISO 1600, cropped and enhanced.

 

• On my way back to the comet, decided to try imaging the magnitude 7.5 Dumbbell Nebula M27.  Only imaged once.  Spectacular, bright green nebula.

Single shot, 50 second, ISO 1600, cropped and enhanced.

 

• Took many images of comet, and used heavens above star chart to confirm the very big, very diffuse object, with no brighter central region was indeed Comet 6P d'Arrest.  It's low position in the sky made imaging difficult.  The location of the comet in the sky is kind of odd as well, compared to where the other comets are located in the sky.  The comets magnitude 10.1 brightness must be attributed to its size, which was approximately full Moon size.

Single shot, 120sec, ISO 3200, cropped and enhanced.

A negative of the image above to better show the very diffuse comet.

 

•  Two very fast, faint shooting stars were seen.  Both coming from the summer triangle.