2017k2 20200223 rroberto

On the morning of February 23 (average time of exposures 04h00m UT) I observed the comet C/2017 K2 from Frasso Sabino with the 369mm cassegrain reduced to F / 6.66. After a few hours of clouds in the morning the sky improved a lot, also having excellent seeing (FWHM about 2".8). I made 27x90s exposures mediated successively in groups of 3 and then added the 9 images.

The comet is truly bright considering its great distance from the Sun and Earth!

Considering a coma diameter of 18 pixels (24".1) its magnitude is 15.7. But the particular thing is that it has an elongation (perhaps already a fan-shaped tail ????) almost in an anti-solar position (PA about 330).

I am attaching an unprocessed image (only a high contrast) with north at the top and east at the left. Scale 1".34/pixel and field of 22'.8x28'.5.

I also forward the isophotes made with the MIRA program where perhaps it confirms the fact that there is a tail.