Observation by Dr Paul Leyland: C/2026 A1 MAPS

Uploaded by

Dr Paul Leyland

Observer

Dr Paul Leyland

Observed

2026 Feb 22 - 20:10

Uploaded

2026 Feb 23 - 16:16

Equipment

0.4m Dilworth Relay
SX 814 CCD camera
No filter

Exposure

4777s (159 subs of 30s each) stacked on predicted motion of comet.

Location

Tacande Observatory, MPC J22

Target name

C/2026 A1 MAPS

Title

C/2026 A1 MAPS

About this image

See https://britastro.org/section_news_item/c-2026-a1-maps-a-kreutz-group-sungrazer for the inspiration for this observation.

The comet was at altitude 32º at the start of the observation and 19º at the end. The low altitude, a fairly nearby crescent moon and some Saharan dust in the air resulted in a bright sky background of around 2200 ADU whereas a decent dark sky comes in at around 250 ADU. Accordingly background removal and contrast enhancement was needed to give a half-way decent image.

The subs have been sent to Nick in the hope he can get a useful measurement out of them.

Files associated with this observation

comet1.png (2.7 MB)

Like this image

ENRICO SALIS, Graham Winstanley, David Basey, Steve Knight

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