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 comet’s new RA/Dec coordinates (02h48m40s, +09°32’56”) as a manual target. 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.

    According to the Comet Observers Database (COBS) the visual magnitude of the comet was 8.4 for the night. My images from the previous night (20260810) were better because the seeing conditions were much better. The forecast for the next few nights doesn’t look good for more observations.

    The following slideshows include the straight out of the telescope (SOOT) images and images processed with PixInsight or Sky Color Studio (included with the Vaonis Singularity application). For scale, I’ve included annotated and cropped images (0.5° FOV width). All of the images including the 16-bit RAW/TIFF files are available on my PhotoShelter site (20260811). Click on the i below the slideshow to view the image captions.

    Vespera 3

    Vespera Pro

    Vespera Pro 2

    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 and adds them to the image stack. Faulty images containing clouds, stray light, and jet trails are automatically 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 successful observations were only 8-10 minutes of frames collected, so the comet is not very bright and there still is significant background noise in the images. The Vespera 3 got the best image for the night. The straight out of the telescope (SOOT) 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 (Gradient Correction) removes the bright center background. The workflow I use with PixInsight also includes Spectrophotometric Photometric Calibration (corrects white balance), and NoiseXterminator (noise reduction).

    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. 

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

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  • Comet 220P/McNaught (10-August-2026)

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    David Mathre
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    The SpaceWeather site had a note that Comet 220P/McNaught had a 2nd outburst and brightened ca. 600-fold on 05-August. My last observation of the comet was on 16-June when its magnitude was 12.4. The overnight skies here have been cloudy every night since the outburst was announced. ClearDarkSky finally forecasted good viewing conditions. Based on the RA/Dec coordinates (02h 46m 51s; +09° 32′ 31″) from Stellarium, the comet would be visible by 03:00.

    I programed the comet’s position into the Vaonis Singularity application for the Vespera telescopes as a manual target. A little after 03:00 the sky was clear and I had five generations of Vespera telescopes observe comet 220P/McNaught. The comet is brighter and looks different than it did at my last observation (16-June-2026). The unedited SOOT (straight out of the telescope) jpg image, the 16-bit raw/tiff image, and processed images (PixInsight) are available on my PhotoShelter site (20260810).

    According to the Comet Observers Database (COBS) the visual magnitude for this night is +8.2. I missed being able to observe the comet at its maximum magnitude of +6.5. I’ve posted time-lapse videos (180° and 360°) for the viewing conditions of the overnight sky (20260809/10).

    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° FOV width). All of the images including the 16-bit RAW/TIFF files are available on my PhotoShelter site (20260810). Click on the i below the slideshow to view the image captions.

    Vespera 1

    Vespera 2

    Vespera 3

    Vespera Pro 1

    Vespera Pro 2

    In the unprocessed jpg images the center of the image has a brighter background. It is more noticeable in the Vespera 3 and Vespera Pro 2 images. Processing the images with PixInsight — Gradient Correction flattened the background; Spectrophotometric Color Correction provided white balance; and NoiseXterminator removed the noise).

    Links to my previous observations of comet 220P/McNaught: 20260606, 20260609, 20260616

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  • Comet 220P/McNaught (16-June-2026)

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    David Mathre
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    Comet 220P/McNaught is now post-perihelion (14-June-2026) and is still visible with my Vespera 3 telescope. I am now able to observe the comet without the trees being in the way. I updated the manual target for the Vespera 3 telescope with the new coordinates for the comet from Stellarium (RA/Dec: 00h40m08s; 04°00’15”). The observation was started at 03:29 and allowed continue until 04:00. The sky gets bright really early this time of the year — it is only a few days before the summer solstice.

    I processed the composite 188 frame exposure (1880 sec) TIFF file with PixInsight (AutomaticBackgroundExtractor, SpectrophotometricColorCorrector, NoiseXterminator). When processing the image with PixInsight, AutomaticBackgroundExtractor did a better job than GradientCorrection for flattening the background. Ultimately, I needed to crop the image. The brightness in the corner of the full image is probably due to the early dawn. The straight out of the telescope (SOOF) JPG and 16-bit RAW/TIFF images are available on my PhotoShelter site (20260616).

    Vespera 3

    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0189; Total exposure time: 1880 sec.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0189; Total exposure time: 1880 sec. Image processed with PixInsight. Cropped (0.5° width)
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0189; Total exposure time: 1880 sec.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0189; Total exposure time: 1880 sec. Image processed with PixInsight. Annotated with astro grid.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0189; Total exposure time: 1880 sec.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0189; Total exposure time: 1880 sec. Unprocessed jpg image.

    The comet is very faint, and the tail is barely visible. Dimmer than on 06-June and 09-June. The estimated magnitude is 12.4. At this point the comet is 224 M km (1.5 AU) from earth. It will be a little over 5 years before it returns.

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  • Comet C220P/McNaught (09-June-2026)

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    David Mathre
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    The night was clear, so I attempted to view comet 220P/McNaught again (RA/Dec: 00h21m31s, +02°41’46”). This time with the Vespera telescopes closer to the house. Trees were still in the way, and I was not able to observe the comet with the Vespera 3 telescope. The Vespera Pro 2 telescope was able to lock on and track the comet, through an opening between the limbs and leaves of the trees next to the house. The moon was also bright and nearby in the sky. The composite view (131 images, 1310 sec) had a messy background.

    Vespera Pro 2

    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Frames: 0132; total exposure time: 1310 sec.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Frames: 0132; Total exposure time: 1310 sec. Unprocessed jpg image.

    The image needed a lot of processing with PixInsight (GradientCorrection, SpectrophometricColorCorrection, NoiseXterminator) but did show the comet after cropping out the problematic background.

    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Frames: 0132; total exposure time: 1310 sec.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera Pro 2 Telescope. Frames: 0132; Total exposure time: 1310 sec. Image processed with PixInsight. Cropped (0.5° width). Annotated with astro grid.

    The comet was fainter and the tail more difuse than on 06-June-2026. The estimated magnitude was +11.2. The unprocessed SOOT (straight out of the telescope) jpg and raw/tiff images for this observation are available on my PhotoShelter site (20260609).

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  • Comet C220P/McNaught (06-June-2026)

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    David Mathre
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    I saw a note on the Space Weather site that comet C220P/McNaught just increased in brightness. I looked up the coordinates (RA/Dec (J2000.0): 0h13m22s/+2°06’01”) using Stellarium. It looked like it may be visible from my location early in the morning. At this time of the year that is really early. Astronomical dawn starts at 02:36. I moved the Vespera 3 telescope to a location in the far backyard to have visibility to the east above the tree line where I thought the comet might be visible. At 03:00 after initializing the Vespera 3 telescope and programing the coordinates as a manual target I had the telescope look for the comet. I realized that there was still a tree in the way.

    I moved the telescope, reinitialized it, and had it look for the comet again. At 03:30 the Vespera 3 telescope found the comet, and I was able to get an image. Even though the sky was getting brighter, I followed up with three more observations at 03:46, 04:00, and 04:18. By the time of the last observation clouds started appearing and the sky was getting too bright. Sunrise was at 05:26.

    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0071; Total exposure time: 700 sec.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0071; Total exposure time: 700 sec. Image processed with PixInsight. Cropped (0.5° width)
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0071; Total exposure time: 700 sec.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0071; Total exposure time: 700 sec. Image processed with PixInsight. Annotated with astro grid.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0071; Total exposure time: 700 sec.
    Comet 220P/McNaught viewed from my backyard with a Vespera 3 Telescope. Frames: 0071; Total exposure time: 700 sec. Unprocessed jpg image.

    The comet C220P/McNaught was not very bright. The estimated magnitude was +8.7 and is just barely visible in the unprocessed jpg image. To make the comet more visible, I processed the RAW/TIFF file with PixInsight (GradientCorrection, SprectrophotometricColorCalibration, and NoiseXterminator).

    The head of the comet has the green color from ionization of diatomic carbon (C2) and there is a short tail. I added the grid to the image to get an estimate of the length of the tail. The comet is still approaching the sun (perihelion on 14-June) so I am not sure if I will have another opportunity to view it again.

    The unprocessed SOOT (straight out of the telescope) jpg and raw/tiff images for this and the other observations are available to view on my PhotoShelter site (20260606). Time-lapse videos recording the overnight viewing conditions (180° night sky and 360° little planet) for the night are available on my Time-Lapse site (05-June-2026).

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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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