Astronomy Picture of the Day -- PanSTARRS from France

NASA ^ | March 16, 2013 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Still looking for that comet? Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) naked-eye appearance in the northern hemisphere is described by successful comet spotters as a dim star with faint a tail. If you want to catch it the next few days could be your best bet. Start looking low and almost due west about 45 minutes after sunset. Of course, clear skies and a pair of binoculars should help a lot. Sky photographer Jean-Luc Dauvergne found suitable weather and western horizon for this comet and crescent Moon portrait after a road trip on March 13. Seeing PanSTARRS for the first time, he recorded the beautiful twilight scene with a telephoto lens near historical Alesia in France.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit & Copyright: Jean-Luc Dauvergne]

[SunkenCiv]

Still Growing Gallery: Comet PanSTARRS at Sunset

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[The Cajun]

PanSTARRS from France

Sacré bleu!

[wastedyears]

Beautiful picture.

[JoeProBono]

[Berlin_Freeper]

Comet PanSTARRS - The Movie

[dr_lew]

Well, I just posted this to the previous APOD, but here it is again, since it is directly comparable, even if mine comes up short. Mine is essentially the same view, astronomically, taken about six hours later. Notice the moon's motion wrt delta and epsilon Piscium, along its line of motion. It is displaced to the upper left in my later exposure. My exposure is inferior largely due to sloppiness ... motion blur and poor focus. ( Focus is very demanding with the high resolution focal planes we have today. )

Aside from that, the APOD seems to have better exposure balance, noticeable in the moon. According to Starry Night, I had 5% illumination instead of 4% illumination 6 hours earlier, but still, the illuminated portion of the disk is subdued in the APOD, compared to mine. I'm thinking he had a shorter exposure at higher effective "speed" ( I was at 2000 ) but I don't know if he had something fancy going on there.

Anyway, as I say, very instructive for me.

[SunkenCiv]

Still nice, thanks!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Berlin_Freeper!

Comet PanSTARRS -- The Movie: On the evening of March 11, 2013, Comet PanSTARRS was captured in a time lapse sequence as it set over the Dos Cabezas Mountains.