[APML] Comet NEAT

["Dick Locke" <rlocke1@houston.rr.com>]

Thanks Dale.  I guided on the stars, though on the 3106 I didn't guide 
(just let the mount track).

Boy, the Schmidt cameras rule on this kind of object!

-Dick

Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 13:04:24 -0700
From: "Dale Ireland" <direland@drdale.com>
Subject: RE: [APML] comet NEAT pix
To: "'Discussion of Film Astrophotography'" <astro-photo@seds.org>
Message-ID: <auto-000004844928@wavecable.net>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Very nice. Did you guide on the comet or the stars? Don't see much star
trailing. Looks like you caught a satellite in the upper right of the 3106
frame.
Dale 

-----Original Message-----
From: astro-photo-bounces@seds.org [mailto:astro-photo-bounces@seds.org] 
On
Behalf Of Dick Locke
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 10:58 AM
To: astro-photo@seds.org
Subject: [APML] comet NEAT pix

Greetings, here's a note I also sent to my local astro clubs...  While the
images are DSLR, rest assure I'm also shooting film and will post when
processed in the coming weeks!
=====
I have managed to post some comet pix to my web site.  I'm staying at a
cabin in the Davis Mountains this week and using my hosts' computer, so
managing all this is a bit of a trick ;-)

Here's the most recent, from Monday night:
<http://www.dl-digital.com/images/Astronomy/Comet-NEAT/DSC_3208-
neat=217sec-2.jpg>

and another some of you have seen from Sunday night:
<http://www.dl-digital.com/images/Astronomy/Comet-NEAT/DSC_3106-
neated.jpg>
(note the satellite in the upper right of this one)

Photo notes: Nikon D100, camera raw, ISO 800, in camera noise reduction,
Nikon 300mm f2.8 AIS lens at f2.8, and both are full-frame.  Mounted to
Losmandy G11, the 1st image was auto-guided and the second was unguided.  
The effective focal length is 450mm.  As you can tell from the name, the 
1st
image was 217 seconds exposure, and the second was a similar.  
Processed in Photoshop with individual channels stretched to improve
contrast, then a black level set to 15,15,20 (RGB) with the eyedropper.  
I used Neat Image noise reduction on the 1st (seems appropriate for a NEAT
comet, eh?)  The colors are pretty close to what came out of the camera...

I believe the frame size is just over 4 degrees horizontally.  I'm not 
sure how well it will show up, but there is a hint of the comet's tail on 
the
original (raw) images all the way to the edge of the frame.

Visually, the comet looks best in my 15x70 tripod mounted binocs.  Naked
eye, I can't really see a tail; perhaps there's just a tiny hint that it
isn't round. It is much less prominent than the nearby Beehive, and it 
seems to be dimming a bit each night. 
(...)


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