Gjeraker

2023-01-30 C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

Another attempt at C/2022 E3 (ZTF), 4 days after last time. Today is only 2 days from the comet's closest approach to Earth, and looking at the weather, my best shot before it turns away from us.

Small but significant improvements each attempt! The comet's gas tail (right) is now much more obvious than previous attempts, and the dust cloud (below) is also (barely) visible.

With longer exposures come longer star trails. I don't mind them, but below is a subset stack of ~6min. The comet tail(s) are only slightly fainter but with much shorter trails.

Conditions were pretty good this evening, with clear weather and the comet at ~80°Dec, allowing for longer than usual (5s) exposures with my 300mm. The only downside was The Moon, which at 73% shone as a second Sun, reflecting brightly from the snowy environment.

Location

At the time of capture, 2023-01-30, the estimated magnitude is 8.02, and the comet can be found close to Polaris, around Ra09h19m/Dec+79°46' [source].

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