Friday, Nov 1, 2024

adies and gentlemen, it is with great honor and indescribable pleasure that I present to you a collaboration that will forever be a source of pride in my journey as an astrophotographer. My data, combined with the mastery of the legendary "Lord of the Comets, Rolando Ligustri, who has been awarded NASA’s APOD 20 times, have brought to life an extraordinary image of comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas. For the first time, I decided to challenge myself by capturing a comet, and I couldn’t miss the chance to immortalize what many have already called the “comet of the century.” However, the conditions were far from ideal: the comet was very low on the horizon from my location, and after days of bad weather, I had to settle for a small window of "clear" sky. Despite the autumn haze and the annoying light from LED street lamps, I managed to gather 6 frames, each 80 seconds long. Thanks to my great fortune in the field, I also captured comet 13P/Olbers and the M5 cluster alongside the main comet. To capture the images, I used a RedCat 51 equipped with a ZWO EAF and a ZWO ASI 2600MC Pro, without the aid of any light pollution filters (I know, I’m crazy!). The setup was mounted on an EQ6R-Pro and controlled by an ASI Air Plus. The quality of the data was far from excellent, but in the expert hands of Rolando Ligustri, even those turned into something magical. Here is our image of comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas, the result of passion, perseverance, and, most importantly, my boldness in reaching out to Rolando! Clear Skies and Peace Simone