Capturing comet PanSTARRS alongside Sh2-112 and Sh2-115

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Astrophotographer Kay Oktay has captured a stunning image of Comet C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS). While initially photographing Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy, Kay noticed the comet at around 2 AM and decided to give it a shot despite it being his first attempt with a monochrome camera. After much effort, this image stands out as his best work to date.

Just a day before the major aurora event, I was photographing the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN) around Bode's Galaxy (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M82). There wasn't much else to capture in the sky at this time of year, so I was focused on these familiar targets. Around 2 AM, I noticed the Milky Way rising in the northeast and decided to explore what else might be visible. That's when I spotted the comet PanSTARRS. I wondered if it would be worth trying to capture it. The background looked promising, so I decided to give it a shot.

Although I live in a Bortle 4-5 area, our northern sky is remarkably dark. There's a small town nearby, but beyond that, there's nothing for more than 100 miles. In fact, there's virtually nothing until you reach the North Pole. This isolation provides an excellent opportunity for deep-sky imaging.

This image represents 1 hour and 40 minutes of integration time. It took an entire day to process the data from my monochrome camera. I faced numerous challenges and failed several times during the processing, but the effort was worth it. Despite the obstacles, I'm glad I decided to give it a shot that night. The resulting image turned out to be one of my best captures so far.

Image acquisition details for C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS) / Sh 2-112 / Sh 2-115

William Optics Redcat 51 III
Imaging Cameras: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
Mounts: ZWO AM5
Filters: Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 36 mm · ZWO Blue 36 mm · ZWO Green 36 mm · ZWO Luminance 36 mm · ZWO Red 36 mm
Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus · ZWO EFW 7 x 36mm

Software:

Adobe Photoshop
Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight
Russell Croman Astrophotography BlurXTerminator
Russell Croman Astrophotography NoiseXTerminator
Russell Croman Astrophotography StarXTerminator

Acquisition details continued

Dates: May 10, 2024
Frames:
- Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 36 mm: 6×300″(30′)
- ZWO Blue 36 mm: 5×180″(15′)
- ZWO Green 36 mm: 5×180″(15′)
- ZWO Luminance 36 mm: 8×180″(24′)
- ZWO Red 36 mm: 5×180″(15′)
Integration: 1h 39′
Avg. Moon age: 2.57 days
Avg. Moon phase: 7.27%
Pixel scale: 3.117 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 33.076 degrees
Field radius: 3.244 degrees
WCS transformation: thin plate spline
Resolution: 6218x4176
File size: 19.1 MB
Locations: Houghton, Houghton, MI, United States
Data source: Backyard

Comet C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS)

RA center: 20h27m24s.26
DEC center: +47°45′49″.1
RA (center)20h27m24s.26RA (top/left)20h46m40s.53
RA (top/right)20h19m24s.40
RA (bottom/right)20h08m09s.85
RA (bottom/left)20h34m33s.56
Dec (center)+47°45′49″.1
Dec (top/left)+47°42′32″.10
Dec (top/right)+50°43′40″.3
Dec (bottom/right)+47°37′08″.8
Dec (bottom/left)+44°46′13″.5

Comments

This content is made possible by a guest author, or sponsor; it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of ScopeTrader's editorial staff.

Capturing comet PanSTARRS alongside Sh2-112 and Sh2-115, PanSTARRS