2026a1 20260305 mjaeger

C/2026 A1 MAPS - Here (48 N, Austria), the comet is slowly sinking too low. Haze is also increasingly impairing observation. Nevertheless, conditions were still reasonably good today. The latest observations show that although the comet is becoming brighter and the coma is more condensed.  The coma is beginning to shrink, similar to what happens to 2P Encke as it approaches perihelion.The tail is still short and dim. The brightness determined today was 11m7 with a 3' coma and a 3' tail.
I am waiting for the next images from Namibia to clarify whether this is a trend or an effect of the unfavorable conditions.
C/2026 A1  2026 march 5 18.00 UT 20min Leica-Tele f-180mm/4.0 Asi 294 filter green 
image 2  18.10 UT 8x130sec filter UV/IR+green 14"/4.2 QHY 600
M. Jäger, G.Rhemnn, E.Prosperi
Center (RA, Dec):	(40.466, -14.763)
Center (RA, hms):	02h 41m 51.776s
Center (Dec, dms):	-14° 45' 47.792"
Size:	54.2 x 29.9 arcmin
Radius:	0.516 deg
Pixel scale:	1.99 arcsec/pixel
"Orientation", may be incorrect, use at your own risk:	Up is 6.8 degrees E of N