Although comet C220P/McNaught is dimming, I continue my observations with the Vespera telescopes. The Manual Targets in Singularity were updated with the new coordinates for the comet obtained from Stellarium (RA/Dec: 03h 24m 31s; +08° 28′ 13″). Based on my previous study (20261006) I configured the object type as ‘Cluster’. Because the comet is getting dimmer, I increased the gain to 24 dB for Vespera 1, Vespera 2, and Vespera Passengers; and to 20 dB for Vespera 3, Vespera Pro 1, and Vespera Pro2.

The comet is still visible to the telescopes. The tail, still > 0.5° long is fading. According to the Comet Observers Database (COBS) the visual magnitude of the comet was 11.2 for the night. It will be interesting to see how much longer I will be able to observe comet 220P/McNaught with the Vespera telescopes.

The following slideshows include the straight out of the telescope (SOOT) images and images processed with PixInsight. For scale, I’ve included annotated and cropped images (1.0° FOV width). All of the images including the 16-bit RAW/TIFF files are available on my PhotoShelter site (20260907). 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, 20260820, 20260824, 20260825, 20260826, 20260829, 20260830, 20260906

After nearly a week of rain and cloudy nights the ClearNightSky forecast looked good for continuing the observation of comet C220P/McNaught. The Waning Crescent moon is dimmer (~24% illuminated) than the last observation. I updated the manual target coordinates (RA/Dec: 03h 23m 35s; +08° 33′ 22″) for the comet in Singularity and started an overnight observation plan.

The comet is dimming, and the tail is less visible. According to the Comet Observers Database (COBS) the visual magnitude of the comet was 11.0 for the night.

The following slideshows include the straight out of the telescope (SOOT) images and images processed with PixInsight. For scale, I’ve included annotated and cropped images (1.0° FOV width). All of the images including the 16-bit RAW/TIFF files are available on my PhotoShelter site (20260906). Click on the i below the slideshow to view the captions with information about each image.

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, 20260820, 20260824, 20260825, 20260826, 20260829, 20260830

The ClearNightSky forecast didn’t look promising but showed some periods that the sky might be clear. I set up the telescopes continuing for more comet  Comet 220P/McNaught observations. I also wanted to further test the Manual Target object modes (nebula, galaxy, or cluster). The observing conditions ended up being marginal. The comet appeared fainter, and the tail shorter than the previous night. According to the Comet Observers Database (COBS) the visual magnitude was +10.3 (same as the previous night).

The following slideshows include the straight out of the telescope (SOOT) images and images processed with PixInsight. 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 (20260830). 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, 20260820, 20260824, 20260825, 20260826, 20260829