Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) @ f/10
Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2023 11:01 pm
My first real comet capture. Not as spectacular as I hoped it would be though.
It's at f/10 (2032mm), so I only could use short exposure times (4sec) because the comet was just moving too fast.
Also the moon high in the sky and a lot of captures lost due to strong winds, only 80 exposures were good to use. But at least it was mainly clear skies for the first time in 6 weeks.
Talking about the moon: in this FOV the moon just doesn't fit. So it gives a good comparison on how big the comet is in the sky![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
Bortle 6/7
Meade LX200 8" f/10 ACF OTA
Ioptron CEM25EC mount
Baader IR/UV Cut filter
Zwo ASI071MC Pro camera
Captured with SharpCap Pro @ -10 Celsius / White balance R50 B50
80 x 4sec / Gain 400 / Offset 4
50 x darks, 50 x flats and 50 x darkflats
Stacked with DeepSkyStacker
One stack with comet and starstripes + one stack with stacked stars and blurry comet
Processed with Siril and Photoshop
Siril: Crop, Histogram
Photoshop: StarExterminator used on the stacked stars version and pasted that resulting starfield over the stacked comet at Screen.
Removed the starstripes with the Spot Healing Brush (Content Aware).
Camera Raw Filter (white balance, contrast, darks, color saturation, lightness, sharpening), light noise reduction NoiseXterminator plug-in.
Full res at https://i.imgur.com/np4hNgx.jpg
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/np4hNgx.jpg)
It's at f/10 (2032mm), so I only could use short exposure times (4sec) because the comet was just moving too fast.
Also the moon high in the sky and a lot of captures lost due to strong winds, only 80 exposures were good to use. But at least it was mainly clear skies for the first time in 6 weeks.
Talking about the moon: in this FOV the moon just doesn't fit. So it gives a good comparison on how big the comet is in the sky
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
Bortle 6/7
Meade LX200 8" f/10 ACF OTA
Ioptron CEM25EC mount
Baader IR/UV Cut filter
Zwo ASI071MC Pro camera
Captured with SharpCap Pro @ -10 Celsius / White balance R50 B50
80 x 4sec / Gain 400 / Offset 4
50 x darks, 50 x flats and 50 x darkflats
Stacked with DeepSkyStacker
One stack with comet and starstripes + one stack with stacked stars and blurry comet
Processed with Siril and Photoshop
Siril: Crop, Histogram
Photoshop: StarExterminator used on the stacked stars version and pasted that resulting starfield over the stacked comet at Screen.
Removed the starstripes with the Spot Healing Brush (Content Aware).
Camera Raw Filter (white balance, contrast, darks, color saturation, lightness, sharpening), light noise reduction NoiseXterminator plug-in.
Full res at https://i.imgur.com/np4hNgx.jpg
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/np4hNgx.jpg)