Derby and District Astronomical Society



Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

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This image of Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF was captured by Peter Branson on February 7th 2023, and comprises 15 minutes total exposure (30x30s). The camera used was a ZWO ASI533 cooled colour camera together with a TS Optics Photoline f7 telescope with a Hutech IDAS light pollution filter and field flattener, mounted on an NEQ6 mount. The images were initially stacked in Nebulosity to provide two starter images - one where the stars are fixed (trailing comet) and one where the comet is fixed (trailing stars). Various processes were used in PixInsight to remove the stars from one and the comet from the other. These last two images were combined to create the final image show here. Peter says - "I've been delighted with the PixInsight software - you can achieve some stunning images - all you need is time, time, time!"  Image Credit: Peter Branson.





Mike Lancaster captured the following picture of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) on the evening of the 13th February 2023. It is a stack of 30 x 2 minute exposures captured using a Mallincam Universe colour camera through an Orion Optics UK AG12 astrograph. A 0.95x Wynne Corrector and IDAS LPS-D3 filter were also employed. The image was guided on the comet nucleus using PHD2. The individual subs were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker using the stars + comet stacking option. Thus, even though the comet is stacked, only the star images in the first sub have been included. Further processing was done in Nebulosity.  Image Credit: Mike Lancaster.




The following picture of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was captured on the evening of the 31st January 2023 by Mike Lancaster. It is a stack of 20 x 1 minute exposures captured using a Mallincam Universe colour camera through an Orion Optics UK AG12 astrograph. A 0.95x Wynne Corrector and IDAS LPS-D3 filter were also employed. The image is unguided, but the mount tracking rate was set to follow the motion of the comet using the EQMOD custom tracking function, with ephemeris data obtained from the Minor Planet Center. The individual subs were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker using the stars + comet stacking option. The image was processed in Nebulosity.  Image Credit: Mike Lancaster.




Mike Lancaster captured the following picture of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) on the 30th January 2023 at 19:16 UT. A single 1 minute exposure was captured using a Mallincam Universe colour camera through an Orion Optics UK AG12 astrograph. A 0.95x Wynne Corrector and IDAS LPS-D3 filter were also employed. The image is unguided, but the mount tracking rate was set to follow the motion of the comet using the EQMOD custom tracking function, with ephemeris data obtained from the Minor Planet Center. The image was processed in Nebulosity and Photoshop. The star trails show how far the comet moved in just one minute.  Image Credit: Mike Lancaster.




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