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This morning Comet Lulin was just south of the star with the coolest name: Zubenelgenubi. That is the name of the two stars at the top of this image. Zubenelgenubi is actually a double star, as you can see. In fact, sharp-eyed people see the two stars without optical aid. The two are probably gravitationally bound. The dimmer of the two is actually also itself a double star, though these two are too close to split visually.Comet Lulin was discovered at Lulin Observatory in Taiwan last July. It is an odd comet because it is moving along roughly the same plane that the planets move around the sun, but Comet Lulin is moving backwards! It is expected to appear near Saturn later this month (only apparently near the planet) on its way out of the inner solar system.
This image is about 9 x 30' with the Canon XTi and a Nikon 300mm f/4 lens. Processing was done in Nebulosity and PSE7.
2 comments:
Interesting photo! Can I see a hint of tail there or is the comet not that well developed at this stage? I need to look for that and try shooting it myself.
The tail is there. One can see the orientation of the comet in my image, and in that sense a tail, but not really a tail. But I've seen it in others' photos. I just don't have a long enough exposure. Check here:
http://tinyurl.com/dnc49n
Thanks to Drako of the NHAC for the tip.
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