C/2006 M4 (SWAN) |
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![]() Copyright © 2006 by Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann (Austria)
Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann obtained this image of comet SWAN on 2006 September 30.13. This was obtained with a 25-cm Schmidt Camera, with an ASA Corrector and a Sigma 1603 CCD camera. Discovery R. D. Matson (Irvine, California, USA) and M. Mattiazzo (Adelaide, South Australia, Australia) independently reported a possible comet shortly before early July of 2006. The comet was found on images obtained using the SWAN camera aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft during the period of June 20 to July 5. A request for confirmation revealed a couple of immediate responses. First, T. Lovejoy (Thornlands, Queensland, Australia) found a 12-magnitude image taken on June 30 using a digital camera. He said the coma was about 0.5 arc minutes across and exhibited a greenish hue. Second, R. H. McNaught (Siding Spring Observatory, Australia) photographed the comet on July 12, using the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt reflector. He determined the magnitude as 12.3 and said the comet was strongly condensed, with a short tail. Historical Highlights
Additional Images ![]() Copyright © 2006 by Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann (Austria)
Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann obtained this image of comet SWAN on 2006 September 24. This is a 3-minute 15-second exposure obtained with an ASA 20-cm Astrograph and a Sigma 3200 CCD camera.
![]() Copyright © 2006 by G. Sostero & E. Guido (Mt. Ioanaz, Italy)
![]() Copyright © 2006 by Gary W. Kronk (Illinois, USA)
G. W. Kronk obtained this image of comet SWAN on 2006 October 15. Two one-minute long movies were obtained using a Meade 20-cm Schmidt-Cassegrain GPS and a MallinCam Hyper video camera. Each movie was stacked using Registax and the images were then stacked using Registax.
![]() Copyright © 2006 by Gary W. Kronk (Illinois, USA)
G. W. Kronk obtained this image of comet SWAN on 2006 October 21. Eight 30-second long movies were obtained using a Meade 20-cm Schmidt-Cassegrain GPS and a MallinCam Hyper video camera. Each movie was stacked using Registax and the images were then stacked and averaged using Astrometrica.
![]() Copyright © 2006 by Gary W. Kronk (Illinois, USA)
G. W. Kronk obtained this image of comet SWAN on 2006 October 24.02. Nine 30-second long movies were obtained using a Meade 20-cm Schmidt-Cassegrain GPS and a MallinCam Hyper video camera. Each movie was stacked using Registax and the images were then stacked and averaged using Astrometrica. The comet was then experiencing an outburst in brightness.
![]() Copyright © 2006 by Gary W. Kronk (Illinois, USA)
G. W. Kronk obtained this image of comet SWAN on 2006 October 25.02. Five 30-second long movies were obtained using a Meade 20-cm Schmidt-Cassegrain GPS and a MallinCam Hyper video camera. Each movie was stacked using Registax and the images were then stacked and averaged using Astrometrica. The comet was then experiencing an outburst in brightness.
![]() Copyright © 2006 by Mark Brown (Florida, USA)
M. Brown obtained this image of comet SWAN on 2006 October 30.0. It is a composite of twenty-two images obtained during a period of 50 minutes. He used a Canon Digital Rebel attached to a 20-cm Celestron SCT.
![]() Copyright © 2006 by Gary W. Kronk (Illinois, USA)
G. W. Kronk obtained this image of comet SWAN on 2006 October 30.02. Two 40-second long movies were obtained using a Meade 20-cm Schmidt-Cassegrain GPS and a MallinCam Hyper video camera. Each movie was stacked using Registax and the images were then stacked and added using Astrometrica. Some work was done in PhotoShop to bring out the tail a little more. |