OBSERVING REPORT FOR MARCH 4, 2022 (Updated)

Location:  Price of Wales, NB, Canada

Date Time:  March 4, 2022 2015-2220hrs

Weather:  Slight breeze, -12C, humidity 68%, windchill a major factor, mostly clear.  No dew on equipment but lots of frost.

Objective:  To image three comets which were in the Southern, South western and north western sky.

Report:

• On a rare clear evening, a very bright, thin, 6% illuminated Moon hung very low in the west.

Thin crescent moon with Earhshine.

 

•  Looked for Comet C/2021 F1 Lemmon-PANNSTARRS which was in Lacerta, very close to Alpha Lacerta, low in the north western sky during the first part of observing.  By the time I was set up and imaged that area of the sky, the comet sank behind the treeline.  This comet has an interesting orbit.  It's now just outside of Mercuries orbit, getting farther from the Sun now.  This comet could brighten.
  

Alpha & Beta Lacerta.  Single shot, 30sec, ISO 6400, not cropped, processed.

 

• Tried for and imaged Comet 19P Borrelly, which was above and to the west of Taurus.  A nicely placed, but faint magnitude 9.8 comet.  Comet Borrelley has an interesting orbit.  It has been inside of Mars orbit for months now, following Earth.  Instead of passing Earth, then heading farther out into space, it seems to be moving slower than Earth.  Earth seems to be pulling away from the comet.  It has remained fairly bright as recent comets goes, and has formed a nice tail.  Borrelly has an interesting orbit. Its been inside Mars orbit, following Earth for months now. Instead of buzzing past Earth, it seems to be slowing down.

 

Single shot, 34sec, ISO 3200, cropped and processed.

• Before looking for the last comet, I decided to image Betelgeuze.  According to Richard Hinckley Allen in his Star Names Their Lore and Meaning, "Betelgeuze is from Ibt al Jauzah, the Armpit of the Central One..."  It's one of the very few stars in the sky where it is close enough and big enough to actually see it as a disk instead of just a point of light.
  

Single shot, 30 sec, ISO 3200, not cropped, processed.

•  Found another faint comet, mag 9.6 Comet C/2019 L3 Atlas, above Orion, very high up.  It was difficult to image, due to how high it was.  Many of the images were ruined by star trails.

Single Shot, 30 sec, ISO 6400, cropped, processed.

• No satellites were seen, but one went through and ruined an image.  One very bright, shooting star/bolide came straight down, from above Cassiopeia, in the north west. It dropped almost to the horizon.  I seen it around 2100hrs.
  

 

Satellite passes through image of Beta Andromeda(Mirach).  Single shot, 30 sec, ISO 6400, not cropped, processed.