Opportunity to observe and photograph comet 12/P Pons-Brooks!

✪ The comet is visible with binoculars just after Sunset
✪ Need a remote location with dark skies
✪ Can be photographed through a smartphone.
✪ Spotting a comet is a thrill!
✪ The comet will be close to Alpha Areties (Ashwini) on 30th March

Hello all. Some of you may be knowing that one comet- 12/P Pons-Brooks is visible these days. 12/P means it is the 12th comet whose period was calculated. It completes one rotation around Sun in 71 years. It has been known and observed since many centuries. Pons- Brooks is parts of names of two astronomers who had discovered it simultaneously. As of 15th March, its current magnitude is +5.5 and that means from a remote location with dark sky, it should be easily observed through a binocular or even maybe with naked eyes. Its position, though, is slightly tricky as it is approaching the Sun and therefore in our sky it is not far from Sun. It can be observed just when darkness is about to fall. As on 15th March, it is near a bright star Mirach- Beta Andromeda and slowly it is moving towards Aries constellation.

This photo was taken on 5 March. The comet, Andromeda galaxy and Mirach star are visible in the photo. Astronomy photo of the day: Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava

(You read how I had spotted a comet last year- http://niranjan-vichar.blogspot.com/2023/01/spotting-wonderful-comet-c2022-e3-ztf.html You can also read about my other sky related articles and also can find my telescopic photos.)
From cities spotting this comet is very difficult due to light pollution. If you have spotted Andromeda galaxy from cities, then maybe you can try. It is fainter than Andromeda (3.3 magnitude), but not very much fainter. From a remote location with dark sky, you can also photograph it easily. By using sky observation app such as SkySafari, you can find its exact position on day- by day basis. On 30th March, it will be very close to the bright star Alpha Areties (Ashwini). So on that day, its location would not be a problem. The problem lies in having a clear sky without a trace of light pollution.

Pro mode settings for taking a photograph

If you have such sky in front of you then you can use these settings on your pro mode of smartphone to take its photograph. Go to pro mode of your mobile camera. Firstly, start a timer of 3 or 5 seconds so that it takes away hand vibrations. Then make focus infinity or 1 (maximum available). Then keep ISO settings as 800 or 1600. If you have a very dark sky, then you can keep it to 3200. If you have some light pollution, keep it to 800 or 1600. Then keep shutter speed to 8 seconds. It means that the camera will continuously take the photograph for 8 seconds and so you should not touch your mobile while it is taking the photo. Once these settings are done, you can place your camera facing western horizon. Jupiter is easily found in western sky. The comet is much below Jupiter. Once you keep all settings, just place your mobile tilted with some support and click the camera and wait for 10 seconds. If the images are not too bright, you can also use shutter speed of 16 seconds to collect more light (keep mobile idle then for more than 16 seconds). But more light also means more light pollution captured (if it is there).

From a fairly good dark sky, you should be easily able to take a faint image of the comet. For actually observing, you need a good binocular of 10X50 or similar specification. You can also use a good telescope to observe it. But you need to be precise at the location. You can use SkySafari app for this. The daily position and details of the comet are updated here. https://theskylive.com/ Here you will also get other astronomical updates.

Spotting a comet is a thrill! We need many attempts. But once we succeed, it is worth the efforts! That dust like whitish patch in the sky! For next few weeks, this comet can be observed and photographed this way. It is worth a try. On 21st April, it will be brightest and nearest to the Sun, but it will also be low near the horizon for observation. So this comet will keep our fingers crossed!

(Thanks for reading! You can enjoy the photos on the blog link given above. You can also read about my experiences of trekking, cycling, running, meditation, sky watching etc. there. If you wish to get updates of such activities, you can contact me. Niranjan Welankar 09422108376