13P/Olbers 2024-Jun-26 Dan Bartlett

_13P_Olbers_C14HyperStar_asi2600mcP_72x30sec_2024_06_25_220526PDT_JuneLake_California_USA_DEBartlett

Another stable night shows comet 13P/ Olbers inching higher into darker evening skies. The wind torn tail structure hints at the solar dynamics that must be affecting this comet. Couldn't get my other (widefield) backyard setup, setup. Would have loved to see the edge of the FOV twist in larger extent.

Second night spying Olbers with a pair of 18 x50 image stabilizing binos. Scanned the skies two nights ago finding a fairly large diffuse blob without a central condensation and a slight elongation upward-pointing from the horizon. Seeing the comet wasn't easy, since it was less than 10 degrees up off the mountain ridgeline, there weren't any bright stars nearby as a guide and its brightness was spread over a moderate area. HOWEVER, last night I waited until the comet was just above the horizon. Olbers looked much brighter, easier to spot and quite a bit larger with an even larger extension upward. Was the brightness and ease at spotting Olbers last night a true affect of the comet changing or better sky conditions? This image may provide a hint to this question (IDK)
Dan

Full Resolution Image:
https://astrob.in/wn14s7/C/

Backyard setup
scope: C14 HyperStar fl728mm D356mm
exposure: 72 x 30 sec
Seeing:3/5
Transparency 8/10
Observer: DEBartlett
Place: June Lake_California USA

Image Info (Processed ):
Projection ............... Gnomonic
Projection origin ........ [1492.020332 950.926949] px -> [RA: 8 10 30.402 Dec: +42 34 11.27]
Resolution ............... 2.132 arcsec/px
Rotation ................. -2.209 deg
Reference system ......... ICRS
Observation start time ... 2024-06-26 04:32:56 UTC
Observation end time ..... 2024-06-26 05:25:39 UTC
Geodetic coordinates ..... 119 04 46 W 37 46 51 N 2360 m
Focal distance ........... 727.61 mm
Pixel size ............... 7.52 um
Field of view ............ 1d 46' 1.3" x 1d 7' 34.7"
Image center ............. RA: 8 10 30.403 Dec: +42 34 11.27 ex: +0.016094 px ey: +0.001720 px
Image bounds:
top-left .............. RA: 8 15 13.415 Dec: +43 09 36.54 ex: -1.118518 px ey: -1.429238 px
top-right ............. RA: 8 05 34.113 Dec: +43 05 18.14 ex: +2.169294 px ey: -1.150245 px
bottom-left ........... RA: 8 15 21.855 Dec: +42 02 13.93 ex: -1.114816 px ey: +0.445078 px
bottom-right .......... RA: 8 05 52.783 Dec: +41 58 00.39 ex: +1.103126 px ey: +0.435613 px