David Mathre Photography

Astrophotography

  • Comet 220P/McNaught (24-August-2026)

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    David Mathre
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    The continuing observations of comet C220P/McNaught with my Vespera telescopes. After several cloudy days and nights, the ClearNightSky forecast looked good for two or three nights. I updated the manual target coordinates (RA/Dec: 03h 09m 01s; +09° 19′ 20″) for the comet in Singularity and started overnight observation plans for the Vespera telescopes.

    The head of the comet is green, and the tail is nearly 1° long. According to the Comet Observers Database (COBS) the visual magnitude of the comet was 9.9 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 (0.5° and 1.0° FOV width). All of the images including the 16-bit RAW/TIFF files are available on my PhotoShelter site (20260824). 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

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  • Comet 220P/McNaught (19-August-2026)

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    David Mathre
    Post Categories: , , , , , , , ,

    The ClearNightSky forecast looked marginal for the night, but it looked like there may be some clear skies when comet C220P/McNaught would be visible. I updated the manual target coordinates (RA/Dec: 03h 01m 24s; +09° 29′ 09″) for the comet in Singularity and started an overnight observation plan. My Vespera Passengers just returned from France after warranty service so was also set up for observing the comet.

    The skies were clear long enough for the telescopes to get some images of the comet. The comet tail appears to be getting a bit longer. According to the Comet Observers Database (COBS) the visual magnitude of the comet was 9.4 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 (20260819). Click on the i below the slideshow to view the image captions.

    Vespera 1 Telescope

    Vespera 2 Telescope

    Vespera 3 Telescope

    Vespera Pro 1A Telescope

    Vespera Pro 1B Telescope

    Vespera Pro 2 Telescope

    Vespera Passengers Telescope

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

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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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