Cassiopeia Observatory

Comet C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) & Crescent Moon

Posted: 13 March 2013

Opened the observatory Tuesday, 12 March 2013, at 1805 MST, 80°F. The sky was clear. I set up the D7000 DSLR on a tripod for photographing Comet C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) and the thin crescent moon. At 1840 MST (10 minutes after sunset), picked up the very thin crescent moon with 7x50 binoculars. Took this photo of the moon at 1844 MST, 300mm:

At 1856 MST, the comet was visible in the binoculars. This photo was taken at 1858 MST:

The comet became faintly visible to the naked eye at 1902 MST. The following photos were taken from 1913 MST to 1943 MST, and show various views of the comet, the moon, and the distant mountains:

Just as the comet was disappearing from naked eye view as it got lower in the sky, the Zodiacal Light was becoming visible.

I had hoped to stay in the observatory after the comet show was over, but after a hike in California on Monday and the drive back home from San Diego on Tuesday, I was pooped. I decided to defer my imaging list to another session. Closed the observatory at 2000 MST, 59°F.

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