Aloha!
Like many astronomy enthusiasts I have been following the comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy. I present to you a montage of sketches beginning with binocular views and progressing to higher magnification as the comet moved through the sky.
The first sketch in binoculars on 12/20/14 showed the bright yellow/ orange star Kappa Columba in the same field of view as the comet. On 12/28/14 the close proximity to M79 made for a special observation in my 4” refractor. In the last sketched observation on 1/7/15 in the 12.5” reflector I was taken aback by the sheer size of the comet, also at its brightest at this time with light and dark streaking visible in the tail. Beautiful to behold at any magnification.
Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy Montage
12/20/14 to 1/7/15, all times listed are Hawaii Standard Time.
7×50 Binoculars, 4” Refractor, 12.5” Reflector
White paper, #2 pencil, blending stump
Inverted and combined in Photoscape
Cindy (Thia) L Krach
Maui, Hawaii
Haleakala Amateur Astronomer
Hi Cindy,
3 timely captures of this fine comet crossing the sky now.
You have captured it perfectly.
I was finally just able to detect the ion tail last night.
Frank 🙂
A wonderful collection! Thank you for sharing. I look forward to revisiting the comet from a dark site.
kind regards,
Mark
As said somewhere else, this is a very astro-professional report. And the artisitic value is there as well
Michel
Thanks very much for your comments Frank, Mark & Michel
Cindy