12P/Pons-Brooks 2024-Apr-06 Gianluca Masi

We present our likely last hi-res image of comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, now that it is leaving the Northern sky. The inner coma shows intriguing details.

This image comes from the sigma-clipping combination of 7 x 60-second exposures, unfiltered and unguided, remotely taken with the Celestron C14+Paramount ME+SBIG ST8-XME robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project. The telescope tracked at the comet’s rates of motion. Wavelet analysis was performed to extract the subtle features in the inner coma, like dust waves and other structures. Despite the very low altitude of the target (13 deg.) and bright twilight, several details are visible.

https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2024/04/08/comet-12p-pons-brooks-the-inner-coma-6-apr-2024/