Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy: a new stunning mosaic (24 Jan. 2015)
Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy: 24 Jan. 2015
While approaching its perihelion nect 30 Jan., comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy continues to be an amazing show in the sky. After 11 days of clouds and rain, the Virtual Telescope was able to observe this comet again, capturing another stunning view.
The image above comes from the average of six, 120-seconds unfiltered exposures, remotely collected with the PlaneWave 17″+Paramount ME+SBIG STL-6303E robotic unit part of the Virtual Telescope Project. The telescope tracked at the apparent rate of the comet. As we said, three adjacent portions of the sky were imaged, later carefully superimposed, to cover a much larger field of view. We used a 3×3 binning, providing the highest sensibility to light, still with a 1.8″/pixel, good resolution for a detailed view. There was a crescent moon, with also some cirrus-like clouds, but results are still amazing.
The tail is showing in a very magnificent way. Thanks to the mosaic technique, our image cover a good field, still providing an excellent resolution of the many complex features making this comet a joy to see. We provide also a negative palette, making easier to see the complex pattern of the tail.
*** See comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy live, online! click here! ***
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