APOD: Polaris and the Trail of Comet ZTF (2023 Feb 03)

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APOD Robot
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APOD: Polaris and the Trail of Comet ZTF (2023 Feb 03)

Post by APOD Robot » Fri Feb 03, 2023 5:05 am

Image Polaris and the Trail of Comet ZTF

Explanation: Stars trace concentric arcs around the North Celestial Pole in this three hour long night sky composite, recorded with a digital camera fixed to a tripod on January 31, near Àger, Lleida, Spain. On that date Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was near its northernmost declination in planet Earth's sky. That put the comet about 10 degrees from Earth's North Celestial Pole making the comet's position circumpolar, always above the horizon, from all locations on planet Earth at more than 10 degrees northern latitude. In the startrail image, the extension of Earth's axis of rotation into space is at the left. North star Polaris traces the short, bright, concentric arc less than a degree from the North Celestial Pole. The trail of Comet ZTF is indicated at the right, its apparent motion mostly reflecting Earth's rotation like the stars. But heading for its closest approach to planet Earth on February 1, the comet is also moving significantly with respect to the background stars. The diffuse greenish trail of Comet ZTF is an almost concentric arc mingled with startrails as it sweeps through the long-necked constellation Camelopardalis.

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daddyo
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Re: APOD: Polaris and the Trail of Comet ZTF (2023 Feb 03)

Post by daddyo » Fri Feb 03, 2023 5:57 am

I really like the grooves on that LP

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Ann
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Re: APOD: Polaris and the Trail of Comet ZTF (2023 Feb 03)

Post by Ann » Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:11 am

Can't resist, sorry...

APOD 3 February 2023 interpreted as a shirt.png
The APOD as a shirt (with the comet and star trails,
on top of the rug that is Polaris)

But I like the APOD, I really do! 🌼 It's a cool idea to show the comet's trail among the star trails. Personally I'm absolutely worthless at reading star trails, but yeah, even I could pick out the comet (thanks to the annotation, thank you)! :D

It seems to me that Polaris looks exceptionally bright in the picture. Many people seem to believe that Polaris is the brightest star in the sky, but that's not true at all - Polaris is just the 46th brightest-looking star in the sky and does not stand out among the other bright stars.

And by the way, what did I mean by pointing an arrow at the white rug that the checkered shirt is lying on? Well, I just meant that the rug is more or less the same color as Polaris, oh well... And obviously I also think that the star trails are kind of purple. :wink:


Anyway, nice APOD! :D

Ann
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FLPhotoCatcher
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Re: APOD: Polaris and the Trail of Comet ZTF (2023 Feb 03)

Post by FLPhotoCatcher » Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:54 am

Here's my, rather poor, photo of comet ZTF.
Taken on Jan 28th.
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orin stepanek
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Re: APOD: Polaris and the Trail of Comet ZTF (2023 Feb 03)

Post by orin stepanek » Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:16 pm

When I was a kid The Big Dipper was my favorite constellation to look for Because it was easy to find! 8-)
Orin

Smile today; tomorrow's another day!

Igwasborn
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Re: APOD: Polaris and the Trail of Comet ZTF (2023 Feb 03)

Post by Igwasborn » Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:56 am

If comet ZTF relative brightnes, regarding the rest, has been enhanced in the picture, maybe it should had been mentioned in the explanation.

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johnnydeep
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Re: APOD: Polaris and the Trail of Comet ZTF (2023 Feb 03)

Post by johnnydeep » Sat Feb 04, 2023 2:27 pm

Igwasborn wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:56 am If comet ZTF relative brightnes, regarding the rest, has been enhanced in the picture, maybe it should had been mentioned in the explanation.
Who said the comet's brightness has been enhanced? I'm not clear on what post processing, if any, has been done to this image from a 3 hour exposure.
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