Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) over New Jersey
Another clear night. It has been very dry this fall with few clouds. All five telescopes were out tonight. First viewing the comet. The Vespera II telescope was fitted with a CLS (city light suppression) filter causing the tint to the image. The length of the comet tail can be estimated based on the field of view for the telescope’s digital sensors. Stellina (1.0° x 0.7°), Vespera Classic (1.6° x 0.9°), Vespera Passengers (2.4° x 1.8°), Vespera II (2.5° x 1.4°), and Vespera Pro (1.6° x 1.6°). The jpg images were processed to increase the brightness (Capture One Pro) and reduce the noise (Topaz AI).
After the comet dropped below the tree line, the telescopes were set to continue or start multi-night mosaic observations of the Veil Nebulae (NGC 6960 and NGC 6992), the Heart and Fish Head Nebulae (IC 1805 and IC 1795), and the Horse Head and Flame Nebulae (IC 434 and NGC 2024). Three of the telescopes Vespera Classic, Vespera Passenger, and Vespera Pro) were fitted with a dual narrowband interference Hα/OIII (hydrogen alpha/oxygen III) filter. The CLS filter remained on the Vespera II telescope, and no filter was used on the Stellina telescope.