Tag Archives: Comet Lovejoy

Comet Lovejoy over the Great Wall

LovejoyJiajieZhang

Image Credit & Copyright: Jiajie Zhang

Fading now as it returns to the outer solar system Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) still graces planet Earth’s sky, a delicate apparition in binoculars or small telescopes. The comet, a relic of the solar system’sformative years, is seen here rising in the morning twilight on January 12 among the stars of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer. Posing near the comet is bright star Alpha Ophiuchi, also known as Rasalhague, from Arabic “the head of the serpent collector”. Of course, the serpentine shape below is the ancient Great Wall of China, along the Panlongshan section northeast of Beijing. Panlongshan is translated as “a coiled dragon”. A moving and fortuitous scene, it was captured with a digital camera and telephoto lens in two consecutive exposures. The exposures were merged to show a natural looking foreground and twilight sky.
NASA APOD 20-feb-2014

Related posts:

  1. Comet Lovejoy through Mörby Castle Ruins
  2. Comet Lovejoy Over a Windmill
  3. Comet Lovejoy before Galaxy M63
  4. Comet ISON Rising

Comet Lovejoy on December ´13

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Scope: William optics GTF81
Camera: canon 5D MarkII
Mount: NEQ6
Exp: 6 min. with 81 mm refractor at f5.9

Autor: Mohammad Nouroozi

AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
16 December 2013

We select the best works of amateur astrophotographers with details of equipment, shooting processing etc.

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Comet Lovejoy Over a Windmill

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Image Credit & Copyright: Jens Hackmann
Lovejoy continues to be an impressive camera comet. Pictured above, Comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) was imaged above the windmill in Saint-Michel-l’Observatoire in southern France with a six-second exposure. In the foreground is a field of lavender. Comet Lovejoy should remain available for photo opportunities for northern observers during much of December and during much of the night, although it will be fading as the month progresses and highest in the sky before sunrise. In person, the comet will be best viewed with binoculars. A giant dirty snowball, Comet Lovejoy last visited the inner Solar System about 7,000 years ago, around the time that humans developed the wheel.
NASA APOD 9 December, 2013

Related posts:

  1. Comet Lovejoy through Mörby Castle Ruins
  2. Comet Lovejoy before Galaxy M63
  3. Surprising Comet ISON
  4. Comet Hale-Bopp, 1995

Comet Lovejoy through Mörby Castle Ruins

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Image Credit & Copyright: P-M Hedén (Clear Skies, TWAN)

This new comet is quite photogenic. Comet Lovejoy, discovered only three months ago, was imaged through ruins of ancient Mörby Castle in Sweden last week sporting a green-glowing coma and tails trailing several degrees. The past few weeks have been an unusually active time for comet watchers as four comets were visible simultaneously with binoculars: ISON, Lovejoy, Encke, and LINEAR. C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) comet is currently visible to the unaided eye from a dark location. As Monday’s new Moon will provide little glare, the next few days provide a good time to see Comet Lovejoy as it reaches its peak brightness. In two and a half weeks, Comet Lovejoy will reach its closest approach to the Sun at a distance just inside the orbital distance of the Earth.

Related posts:

  1. Comet Lovejoy before Galaxy M63
  2. Comet Lovejoy Over a Windmill
  3. Lovejoy in the New Year
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Comet Lovejoy before Galaxy M63

lovejoy1_peach_1943
Image Credit & Copyright: Damian Peach

Comet Lovejoy was captured last week passing well in front of spiral galaxy M63. Discovered only three months ago and currently near its maximum brightness, Comet Lovejoy can be seen near the Big Dipper from dark northerly locations before dawn with the unaided eye. An unexpected rival to Comet ISON, C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy), pictured above, is currently sporting a large green coma and a beautifully textured ion tail. Comet Lovejoy is now headed back to the outer Solar System but should remain a good site in binoculars for another few weeks. Conversely, spiral galaxy M63, lies far in the distance and is expected to remain stationary on the sky and hold its relative brightness for at least the next few million years.
APOD

Related posts:

  1. Comet Lovejoy through Mörby Castle Ruins
  2. Comet ISON Rising
  3. Andromeda Galaxy
  4. Comet Hale-Bopp, 1995