53 Peg
Images
The Galactic Menagerie of Comets, Galaxies and Things
Nominated for top pick at AstroBin. On Saturday, March 16th, I experienced an amazing moment as the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks threaded the needle between M33: the Triangulum galaxy and M31: the Andromeda galaxy. As the trio descended slowly towards the Pacific Ocean, the International Space Station (ISS) flew overhead. M45: the Pleiades dangles like a diamond necklace above the brilliant disc of the planet Jupiter. This 20mm shot captured the scene at exactly 9:03pm. At the bottom, you can see the sand of Agate Beach in Newport, Oregon, USA as it stretches to the water. In the distance, a boat shines with a red glow and the lighthouse casts the beam of its beacon through a lower-lying layer of fog. I used a set of 20mm exposures to frame the scene and stacked 10 50mm photographs of the comet and galaxies to boost the resolution.
2024-03-18