Dark Comet P/2016 BA14 Farewell!
Taken by Bill & Chad Williams on April 17, 2016 @
Chiefland Astronomy Village, Florida
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Date Taken: 2016:04:17 21:46:31
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Details:
We decided to capture some photons from the closest comet to pass Earth in 246 years, namely Comet P/2016 BA14. Although this comet is some 3000 miles in diameter, it has an asphalt-like albedo and currently at magnitude 18, we had to wait for the Moon to set at 4:30AM this morning to capture two 20-minute unbinned exposures using our RCOS 14.5-inch scope and Apogee U16M CCD Camera. A 17.2 magnitude galaxy PGC 2183531 in Hercules is also in the field for brightness comparison. The comet is shifted about 3 arcmin from the predicted location by the IAU Minor Planet and Comet Ephemeris Sevice. An airplane passed over the second 20-minute exposure which can be seen in the attached GIF animation (if it plays for you). A solar system model of the two recent comets from The Sky is also attached showing bright Comet 252/LINEAR nearby. Apparently, these close comet encounters with Earth are coincidental! Thanks for the show!
Photographer's website:
http://williamsseaandsky.com
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