Observation by Martin Mobberley: Comet 2020 M3 (ATLAS) on 2020 Dec 10th
Uploaded by
Martin Mobberley
Observer
Martin Mobberley
Observed
2020 Dec 10 - 02:45
Uploaded
2020 Dec 11 - 12:31
Objects
IC410
IC405
C/2020 M3 (ATLAS)
Planetarium overlay
Constellation
Auriga
Field centre
RA: 05h18m
Dec: +34°04'
Position angle: +9°06'
Field size
1°26' × 2°12'
Equipment
- C11 RASA at itel New Mexico
Exposure
2 x 120 secs
Location
New Mexico
Target name
C/2020 M3 (ATLAS)
Title
Comet 2020 M3 (ATLAS) on 2020 Dec 10th
About this image
After months of downtime itel have resurrected their one shot colour C11 RASA at New Mexico. However, it now has a new ASI2600MC-P CMOS camera with 26 megapixels which can't be binned. The colour FITs files are a horrific 153 Mbytes (!) in size (75 when zipped) which has caused big problems with the New Mexico server, and massive delays. Needless to say, files that big are no fun even when they actually arrive....
Anyway, I've processed the files taken with the new RASA system and the pic is shown here.
Despite the much smaller aperture (4" vs 11") I think the Dec 9th Takahashi FSQ 106 + mono CCD & filters did a much nicer job on the previous day, although the FSQ/CCD field is wider and so allows both IC405 & 410 into the frame. Also, the FSQ pic had a total of 16 minutes exposure vs 4 minutes with the RASA. The image here is with the RASA, the earlier FSQ shot is also on my BAA members pages.
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