Comet Lulin makes an appearance

Comet Lulin made an anticipated appearance in the night sky this past week, and we had a few clear nights to check it out. I took an opportunity to head up on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Tuesday evening (2/24/2009) to make some attempts to photograph this comet. I will not see it again in my life, as it will come around again over 1000 years from now. It glows green in color, mainly due to the outgassing of a cyanode component of the comet. It is right on the verge of naked eye visibility if you look at the sky at a dark site, away from Roanoke's ridiculous amount of light pollution. On that point, If the citizens of Roanoke want to reduce their taxes, as well as their personal electricity costs, quit wasting electricity by illuminating the night sky.

This image is of Comet Lulin

Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f3.5 - ISO 1600 - (480MM effective focal length)
20 Minutes of exposure (10 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking



This image is of the Beehive Cluster, or "Praesepe" in the constellation Cancer. It is an open cluster of mainly young, hot blue stars. It is classified as Messier 44 and NGC 2632. This cluster lies about 575 light years from earth.

Camera - Canon EOS 40D
Lens - Sigma 300 MM f2.8 Lens, set at f3.5 - ISO 1600 - (480MM effective focal length)
18 Minutes of exposure (9 x2 minutes)
AstroTrac TT320X Astrophotography mount for tracking