Object: Comet 73P/Schwassmann - Wachmann 3 - Fragments B and C
Date/Time: 4/25/06, 12:08am CDT
Location: Texas Star Party - Ft. Davis, Tx
Camera: Canon 300D using a Canon 100mm f2 lens @ f3.2
Exposure: 8x2min @ ISO 800 (taken over about a half hour)
Telescope: Camera piggybacked on an unguided Meade 10" LX200
Processing: Registration (stars) and stacking using ImagesPlus.  Final processing in PS.
Comments: Fragments C (bottom) and B (top left) of a comet discovered in 1930 are captured here against the backdrop of constellation Corona Borealis.  73P makes it's loop around the sun every five years or so but in 1995 something unexpected happened: it broke into pieces. Astronomers are currently tracking over 19 fragments, which will make a close pass by the Earth (six million miles) in mid May 2006.

© Dave Dockery 2006