2022e3 20220219 dbartlett

My final night on C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in mid February where the comet had lost most of its "glow".  I pointed two portable RASA 11s , using an asi 6200mcP & a 6200mmP taking 90 second exposures until the comet  became too low to the horizon.  Little did I know that this would be the last time to image for over a month and a half due to the "tens" of feet of snow dropped on my cabin.  At the time of imaging, C/2022 E3 had moved into southward on the border between Orion and Taurus to become more "imaging" difficult.

Each of the 2x 30 x 90 second light frames showed hardly a hint of the the once obvious plasma tail.  Once the mono frames and the RGB masters were combo'd to make a super luminance image and the super luminance was added to the OSC data, the results were mediocre (as seen in this image).  Lack of color in the plasm tail, the extensive patchy background with hints of red nebulosity and the faintness of the comet made for an overall less than expected result.  Happy to have tried though.

Fittingly this image culminates, for me,  the last of this bright comet showing its colors.

Observational details:
2x Backyard setup
scopes: 2xC11 RASA D = 279mm; fl =618mm; F# 2.2
cameras: asi 6200mcP & asi6200mmP
exposure: 30 x90 sec Both setups
Seeing: 4/5
Transparency: 8/10
Observer: DEBartlett
Location: June Lake, California, USA

ALL Image details:
Projection ............... Gnomonic
Projection origin ........ [2235.210695 1391.972708] px -> [RA:  4 42 16.072  Dec:  +8 58 15.81]
Resolution ............... 2.505 arcsec/px
Rotation ................. -2.534 deg
Reference system ......... ICRS
Observation start time ... 2023-02-20 05:16:19 UTC
Observation end time ..... 2023-02-20 05:17:49 UTC
Geodetic coordinates ..... 119 04 46 W  37 46 30 N  2357 m
Focal distance ........... 619.12 mm
Pixel size ............... 7.52 um
Field of view ............ 3d 6' 39.0" x 1d 56' 14.9"
Image center ............. RA:  4 42 16.072  Dec:  +8 58 15.81  ex: +0.000059 px  ey: -0.000137 px
Image bounds:
   top-left .............. RA:  4 48 24.378  Dec: +10 00 17.37  ex: -0.000194 px  ey: -0.000486 px
   top-right ............. RA:  4 35 47.153  Dec:  +9 51 59.91  ex: +0.000869 px  ey: -0.000449 px
   bottom-left ........... RA:  4 48 43.201  Dec:  +8 04 06.44  ex: +0.000016 px  ey: +0.001024 px
   bottom-right .......... RA:  4 36 09.846  Dec:  +7 55 50.73  ex: +0.000918 px  ey: +0.001224 px