Comet Ikeya-Zhang on early morning of Apr 14, 2002

1. f=100mm tele

Date & Time: Apr 13 2002, from 27:09 to 27:18 JST(+0900)
3 images composed with 3min. exposed
Optical: MC Rokkor f=100mm F2.5, Aperture: F4.0
Autu-guided with Kenko SKYMEMO Equatorial
Camera: MINOLTA XD
Film: Fujicolor SUPERIA 1600
Location: Koumi town, Nagano pref.


2. f=165mm tele

Date & Time: Apr 13 2002, 27:18 to 27:25, 27:27 to 27:34 JST(+0900)
2 images composed
Optical: SMC PENTAX f=165mm F2.8, Aperture: F2.8
Autu-guided with TAKAHASHI EM-200 Equatorial
Camera: PENTAX 67
Film: Ektachrome E200 (+1EV pushed)
Location: Koumi town, Nagano pref.


3. f=300mm tele

Date & Time: Apr 13 2002, from 27:44 to 27:56 JST(+0900)
3 images composed with 5min. exposed
Optical: TAMRON SP f=300mm F2.8, Aperture: F2.8
Autu-guided with TAKAHASHI EM-200 Equatorial
Camera: VIXEN VX-1
Film: Ektachrome E200 (+1EV pushed)
Location: Koumi town, Nagano pref.


In April of 2002, comet Ikeya-Zhang has made a round to northeast sky in early morning, and positioned between Cassiopeia and Cepheus bathed in the autumnal Milky Way on that day. Although I had a bad conditioned sky being covered with thin clouds, can detect a clear dust tail with 5 degrees in length through a binocular, and the comet has a visual brightness of about 4th magnitude. And the picture of f=100mm tele shows you an extraordinary long and thin ion tail. The tail is sticked out the picture and it's estimated that the ion tail has over 15 degrees in length. The coma brightness has fallen a bit, but the apparent size is surely getting bigger than in March because the comet is closing to us. I can enjoy the comet's figure being powerful.


Ikeya-Zhang on Apr 29, 2002
Ikeya-Zhang on Mar 30, 2002

Copyright(c) 2002 by Naoyuki Kurita, All rights reserved.
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