Comet 2012S1 ISON on early morning of Nov 23, 2013


Date & Time: Nov 22 2013, from 29:09 to 29:16 JST(+0900)
Composed 6 shots with 1min. exposed
Optical: TAKAHASHI 16cm(6.3") epsilon (f=530mm, F3.3)
with IDAS LPS-P1 Light-pollution suppression filter
Auto-guided with TAKAHASHI EM-200 Equatorial
Digital Camera: Canon EOS 550D (Remodeled)
Location: Kujihama, Hitachi city, Ibaraki pref.

Camera Settings: Recording format...14bit CCD-RAW, converted to 16bit TIFF(5184×3456)
Sensitivity...ISO400




Date & Time: Nov 22 2013, from 29:08 to 29:12 JST(+0900)
Composed 8 shots with 30sec. exposed
Optical: AF zoom-Nikkor ED 80-200mmF2.8 (f=200mm, F4.5)
Auto-guided with EYEBELL CD-1 portable Equatorial
Digital Camera: Nikon D700
Location: Kujihama, Hitachi city, Ibaraki pref.

Camera Settings: Recording format...14bit CCD-RAW, converted to 16bit TIFF(2784×1848)
Device Size...DX format (24×16mm)
Sensitivity...ISO800, White Balance...Daylight


I could catch the comet 2012S1 ISON one week before the perihelion in lower eastern skies of dawn light. The comet has been in the constellation of Libra, the elongation from the sun was about 20 degrees. The coma brightness could be estimated about 3rd magnitude. Although thin clouds conceal the detailed structures, the images show that the bell-shaped dust tail is stretched from the coma, the outside features has changed drastically campared with that in previous day (Nov 22). The second image shows us the very dimmed ion tail is streched in diagonally upward from the horizon with a length of about 6 degrees.
The comet ISON has the perihelion on Nov 29. We can observe it again from the beginning of Dec 2013 in the case that the comet is saved from collapse due to the solar heat during its approach.
  The 1st image: View angle: 2.4×1.6°
  The 2nd image: View angle: 4.56×6.86° (Zenith in upper)


2014E2 Jacques on Mar 22, 2014
2012S1 ISON on early morning of Nov 22, 2013

Copyright(c) 2013 by Naoyuki Kurita, All rights reserved.
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