Comet
73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3
This comet has been breaking up into many separate fragments since 1995. The comet's 2006 return is it's closest return to Earth in over 20 years, allowing great views of the fragments in telescopes and binoculars. Four of these brighter components are presented in these images.
Comet 73P/S-W 3 component C on 04-29-06. Mid-exposure at 04:46 UT (12:46 am EDT). North is to the upper left.
Comet 73P/S-W 3 component B on 04-29-06. Mid-exposure at 06:01 UT (2:01 am EDT). North is to the upper left.
Comet 73P/S-W 3 component G near image center and component R barely visible at the upper right corner, on 04-29-06. Mid-exposure at 07:44 UT (3:44 am EDT). North is to the upper left.
Exposure Data for each of the above comet images:
Telescope: TEC 140 Refractor @ f/5.1 with an Astro-Physics CCD reducer
Camera: SBIG ST-10XE CCD with CFW-8A filter wheel, guided by camera's self guide CCD
Location: Groton, NH
Exposure: Each image is a total RGB exposure of 30 minutes (10:10:10), each filter exposure group made up of ten one minute sub exposures.
The comet's slow motion relative to the background stars causes the stars to appear as trails here. The star trails appear as colored dashes due to the separate one minute sub exposures taken individually through red, green and blue filters.