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Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy


 

Object:

Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy

RA = 3 hrs 14 min; Dec = 20 deg 35 min (Aries)

Date & Site:

Imaged on 1/17/2015; Little Blair Valley, Anza Borrego, CA

Conditions: calm; 35 degrees; excellent seeing

Equipment:

Telescope: Takahashi 60mm refractor with reducer; 285mm fl f/4.8
Mount: AstroPhysics 1100
Camera: Canon 40D mounted on TEC140; guided prime focus with ST-10XME CCD camera

Notes:

Exposures: 8 x 4 minutes at ISO 640

FOV: 4 deg 27 min x 2 deg 58 min; Scale factor: 4.13 arcseconds/pixel

Comet C/2014 is a long period comet discovered on 17 August 2014 by Terry Lovejoy (his 5th comet discovery). On 7 January 2015, the comet passed 0.469 AU (43.6 million miles) from Earth. When this image was taken, the comet was 0.542 AU distance. The next fly-by for Comet C/2014 Lovejoy will be in 8,000 years. The comet's tail has a blue color caused by fluoroscent carbon monoxide.

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