Our AZ community members of Exploretography ventured out to Picket Post Mountain to photograph the Milky Way last night. It provided us with the perfect opportunity to capture this amazing comet that won't be around again until the year 8820...yes, 6800 years from now. A few facts about the comet:
The Neowise Comet is 3 miles across
It is 70 million miles from the earth
It is moving at 40 miles per second, approximately 144,000 mph
It consists of enough water to fill 13 million Olympic swimming pools
It is viewable in the Northern Hemisphere, beginning about 45 minutes-1 hour after sunset, which is about time the stars will become visible. To locate it in the night sky, look for the Big Dipper (use a star tracker app if you need help). Looking NW, you should find it between the big dipper and the horizon. Last night it was much closer to the horizon than the Big Dipper. It is recommended to use binoculars or have your camera set up to do long exposures (5-15 seconds) to locate the comet as it is hard to see with the naked eye. Once you locate the position of the comet in the sky, then you can determine how you want to capture it with your camera.
These images were captured with a Sony A7III, the wide shot with a Sigma 14-24 2.8, and the zoomed shot with a Sony 100-400 GM. The wide-angle shot helps put some perspective of where the comet is in relation to the horizon. This was shot about 1 hour and 15 minutes after the sunset with the following settings: ISO 500, 10 seconds, F2.8.
To achieve a tighter crop of just the comet, and because I was using my zoom lens I had to up my ISO to 3200 for the shot below. This was taken at about 400mm at F5.6 and 8 seconds.
Please do not think you need an expensive camera to capture the comet. I have seen others capture it with their cell phones. Look for a setting on your cell phone that allows for long exposures and you should be set once you are able to locate the comet in the night sky.
We would love for you to share any pictures you take of this awesome comet on our community facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/exploretographers/
Until next time, keep exploring with your camera in hand!
Kommentare