Comet C/2023 P1 Nishimura over Lake Michigan, Sept. 9, 2023 - 5:30am
Photo by Matthew Ryno
Scope / Lens
Vixen AX103s
Camera
ZWO ASI2600mc Pro
Exposure
1000 ms
Processing
Astro Pixel Processor
Date
Sep 9, 2023
Description
I set up for live viewing of the Comet C/2023 P1 Nishimura before it rises right at sunrise. One of the things I like about the overlook nearby where I live is the peace and quiet, while listening to the waves crashing against the bluff with Orion high in the eastern sky, night birds calling overhead, and a beautiful moon. When the comet reached about 5 degrees above Lake Michigan I was nervous we'd hit lake fog or not see it and the eVscope was almost perpendicular to the ground sucking up fog images in the live view projected on the tablet. But then it arrived into the view just where it was expected to be based on our calculated RA/Dec coordinates where we were waiting for the comet a bit after 5:30am. As we regularly do for our Unistellar eVscope science missions, I calculated the ephemeris/GPS location, to predict the exact RA/Dec where the comet was going to be, which is a big help since this comet is so new it's not in a lot of catalogs. Sky Safari does have it too.
ID: 1472