After such a long period with cloud/fog cover, the sky finally cleared for a few hour today, allowing for a nice view of comet 45p.
Visually, with the naked eye, the comet was easily seen, with an estimated magnitude of +4.0 to +4.2 and an apparent diameter equal to that of the Moon. Through an 115mm refractor at 32x, the comet filled almost half the field of view, with a distinct but small nucleus, and an elongated inner coma.
The following shot was acquired using a Canon 550D at ISO 1600, Sigma Macro 50mm at F/4, and 12 exposures each a 30 sec sub, for a total of just 6 minutes under mag +6 skies.
Seen here the comet forms a triangle with the Pleiades and the Hyades clusters. In the next few days 45p will glide close to the Pleiades making for a nice photo-op. Hope to have clear skies again…
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