David Mathre Photography

Astrophotography

  • Comet 220P/McNaught (11-August-2026)

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    David Mathre
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    The ClearNightSky forecast didn’t look very good, but I decided to try and view comet C220P/McNaught again. I programed the new RA/Dec coordinates (02h48m40s, +09°32’56”) as manual targets. Then set up overnight plans in Singularity for the Vespera telescopes to observe the comet. The first attempt started at 03:30 then repeated every 20-30 minutes.

    Before an observation session starts, the Vespera telescope initializes. It aligns itself to the sky and focuses the stars on the digital sensor. Once the observation session starts, the telescope continues to recheck that it is pointing at the target, and the stars remain in focus. The telescope records every good observation in the image stack. Faulty images containing clouds, stray light, and jet trails are filtered by the telescope and not added to the image stack. The telescope stops an observation session after several minutes of repeated problematic images. If time remains in the overnight sequence, the telescope will attempt to restart the observation.

    The Vespera telescopes did initialize and managed to get a few observations of Comet 220P/McNaught during a few breaks in the clouds. If the telescopes were not automated, I probably would have given it up for the night. The Vespera 3 got the best image for the night. The straight out of the telescope (SOOF) JPG images from the Vespera Pro and Vespera Pro 2 have bright gradient backgrounds in the center of the image. Processing the 16-bit RAW/TIFF images with PixInsight using the AutomaticBackgroundExtractor removed the bright background. The unprocessed SOOF images are available in my PhotoShelter site.

    For comparison, I also processed the Vespera 3 observation of comet 220P/McNaught with the Sky Color Studio (SCS) application included in the current version of Singularity. Sky Color Studio processes the 16-bit RAW image within the Singularity application. I am running the program on a Samsung Android tablet (it does not run on Windows). The SCS application provides an 8-bit JPG image output that can be saved locally or uploaded. I saved one version of the image with no adjustments. The comet is brighter than the JPG SOOT image with the bright center background gradient more noticeable. I also processed the image with denoise (100%) and adjusted the contrast (+20%). That reduces the background gradient but also dims the comet.

    Vespera 2

    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 2 Telescope. Composite of 21 exposures (210 sec)
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 2 Telescope. Composite of 21 exposures (210 sec). Straight out of the telescope image. Image processed with PixInsight (added astro grid).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 2 Telescope. Composite of 21 exposures (210 sec)
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 2 Telescope. Composite of 21 exposures (210 sec). Straight out of the telescope image.

    Vespera 3

    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Composite of 56 exposures (560 sec).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Composite of 56 exposures (560 sec). Image processed with PixInsight (added astro grid).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Composite of 56 exposures (560 sec).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Composite of 56 exposures (560 sec). Straight out of the telescope image.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Composite of 56 exposures (560 sec).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Composite of 56 exposures (560 sec). Image processed with Sky Color Studio (no processing). With watermark.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Composite of 56 exposures (560 sec).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Composite of 56 exposures (560 sec). Image processed with Sky Color Studio. Denoise (100); Contrast (20). With Watermark

    Vespera Pro

    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro Telescope. Composite of 62 exposures (620 sec).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro Telescope. Composite of 62 exposures (620 sec). Image processed with PixInsight (with astro grid overlay)
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro Telescope. Composite of 62 exposures (620 sec).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro Telescope. Composite of 62 exposures (620 sec). Straight out of the telescope image.

    Vespera Pro 2

    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Composite of 48 exposures (480 sec).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Composite of 48 exposures (480 sec). Image processed with PixInsight (with astro grid overlay).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Composite of 48 exposures (480 sec).
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Composite of 48 exposures (480 sec). Straight out of the telescope image.

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About the author

I am a scientist by training (Eckerd College, BSc; Caltech, Ph.D.). I worked for 27 years as a Chemist in the Pharmaceutical Industry developing processes to manufacture medicines for human and animal health. I now spend my time as a photographer and world traveler. My interests include the natural world, wildlife, landscapes, sky, and seascapes, travel, and astrophotography. I look for unique ways of viewing the world and presenting my images. I have traveled to over 55 countries in six continents, often on Semester at Sea voyages. While at home in New Jersey, I spend time observing and photographing the plants and animals while expanding a wildflower garden/meadow in the backyard. When the sky is clear, I have telescopes viewing the night sky.

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Comet Comet 220P/McNaught Comet C2025/A6 Comet C2025/R2 PixInsight Singularity Stellarium Stellina Telescope Vaonis Vespera Vespera Classic Vespera II Vespera III Vespera Pro Vespera Pro 2

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