Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, a stunning view at different resolutions – 12 Mar. 2024
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks showed amazing details, both in wide filed and close up images, offering a mind-blowing view.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks: 12 Mar. 2024.
The image above comes from the sigma clipping combination of 7, 120-second unfiltered exposures, unguided, taken with the ARTEC250+Paramount ME+C3Pro61000EC robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project facility in Manciano, Italy. The telescope tracked the comet during the imaging session. The resulting image was carefully processed to preserve the finest details along the tail.
We also managed to image the inner coma at higher resolution, with the results below.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, close-up on the inner coma: 12 Mar. 2024.
This image comes from the sigma-clipping combination of 10, 120-second exposures, unfiltered and unguided, remotely taken with the Celestron C14+Paramount ME+SBIG ST8-XME robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project. The telescope tracked at the comet’s rates of motion. The view above was preserved as much natural as possible and already reveals dust shells close to the false nucleus.
Performing a deeper, wavelet analysis we could isolate dust waves very well, revealing such a complex structure as in the image below.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, dust waves: 12 Mar. 2024.
To conclude, we also share our wide field, color image, showing comet 12P/Pons-Brooks and the Great Andromeda Galaxy.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks and the great Andromeda Galaxy. 12 Mar. 2024.
The image above comes from the combination of ten, 120-second exposures, remotely taken with the Samyang 135+Paramount ME+ZWO ASI 6200MC Pro robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project facility in Manciano, Italy. The covered field of view is about of 16 x 11 square degrees. The picture shows a superb perspective couple: the comet and the Great Andromeda Galaxy, aka Messier 31.
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