C/2007 N3 (Lulin) at Opposition

C/2007 N3 (Lulin) at Opposition
Sketch and Details by Michael Rosolina

Hi,

I would like to add this observation of Comet Lulin to the growing collection of fine Lulin sketches here on ASOD.

This sketch was made at opposition so the ion tail which streams directly away from the Sun is hidden behind the coma surrounding the comet’s nucleus. The dust tail was quite prominent in the moonless sky.

One of the most remarkable things about Comet Lulin was its rapid movement across the night sky. According to Sky & Telescope Magazine’s website, Lulin was crossing one arcminute of sky every five minutes of time when I made my observation. I marked its position at the start of my observation and one can see how far it had traveled by the time I made my sketch.

The sketch was done in the field with HB and 2B pencils and a blending stump and later inverted digitally.

C/2007 N3 (Lulin)
Comet
Friars Hill, West Virginia USA
25 February 2009