David Mathre Photography

Astrophotography

  • Comet 220P/McNaught (20-August-2026)

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    David Mathre
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    My observations of comet C220P/McNaught continue. The forecast from ClearNightSky looked promising. I set up the Vespera telescopes with an overnight plan that included different manual target observation settings. The new coordinates for the comet (RA/Dec: 03h 02m 55s; +09° 27′ 45″) were updated in Singularity.

    The skies remained clear much of the night permitting the telescopes to collect better images of the comet than the previous night (19-August). The comet tail is long and you can detect some curvature. According to the Comet Observers Database (COBS) the visual magnitude of the comet was +9.5 for the night.

    The following slideshows include the straight out of the telescope (SOOT) images and images processed with PixInsight or Sky Color Studio. For scale, I’ve included annotated and cropped images (0.5° and 1.0° FOV width). All of the images including the 16-bit RAW/TIFF files are available on my PhotoShelter site (20260820). Click on the i below the slideshow to view the image captions.

    Vespera 1 Telescope

    Vespera Passengers Telescope

    Vespera 2 Telescope

    Vespera 3 Telescope

    Vespera Pro 1A Telescope

    Vespera Pro 1B Telescope

    Vespera Pro 2 Telescope

    Links to my previous observations of comet 220P/McNaught: 20260606, 20260609, 20260616, 20260810, 20260811, 20260815, 20260816, 20260819

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  • Optimization Viewing Comet 220P/McNaught with Vespera Telescopes – Part 1

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    David Mathre
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    During my observations of comet 220P/McNaught on 10-August and 16-August, I noticed a brighter area at the center of the image’s background gradient, where the comet is centered and its tail is partially obscured. The issue is more pronounced with newer telescopes, including the Vespera 3, Vespera Pro, and Vespera Pro 2. It appears on the tablet screen during the observation and in the final JPG output files. Processing the images with Sky Color Studio minimizes but does not eliminate the center gradient. I don’t see the gradient when processing the RAW/TIFF files with PixInsight.

    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Frames: 0068; total exposure time: 1340 sec.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Frames: 0068; Total exposure time: 1340 sec. Manual target settings. Object type: nebula; exposure: 20 sec; gain 15 dB

    To further investigate the issue, I’ve started running multiple observations of the comet each night with different observation parameters. In addition to the target’s RA/Dec position, Singularity’s advanced mode for Manual Targets has several options: Target type (nebula, galaxy, cluster); Individual exposure time (1-30 sec); Gain (0-27 dB). For tonight’s observations I created Manual Targets with target type: nebula; varied the exposure time and varied the gain. The modified manual targets were added to the overnight plans for the different Vespera telescopes.

    The results are shown in the unedited, “straight out of the telescope” (SOOT) JPG images below, and are available in my PhotoShelter gallery. Click on the i below the slideshow to see the caption with the Manual Target parameters.

    The center gradient is not present on the Vespera 1 images but is visible with the other telescopes. Frame exposure time and gain didn’t seem to make much difference. There were a few observations where I adjusted the mosaic size, and you can see the background is darker in the center of the image where the comet is located. I’ll investigate mosaic size next time. However, it is not the best option when doing shorter observations when there is not enough time to complete multiple exposures over all sections of the mosaic — and the comet is moving relative to the background star field.

    Vespera 1 Telescope

    Vespera Passengers Telescope

    Vespera 2 Telescope

    Vespera 3 Telescope

    Vespera Pro 1A Telescope

    Vespera Pro 1B Telescope

    Vespera Pro 2 Telescope

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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 Jupiter Moon occultation Optimization PixInsight Singularity Stellarium Stellina Telescope time-lapse Topaz Photo Vaonis Vespera Vespera Classic Vespera II Vespera III Vespera Passengers Vespera Pro Vespera Pro 2

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