More than astrophotography, an astronomical exploration.
Comet 10P/Tempel Dust Trail (16 July)
David Cruz · Astromidnight
Comet 10P/Tempel in Capricornus on 16 July 2026, with its green head and a thread of dust running across it from side to side. That trail is dust shed on earlier passes, lined up along the orbit.
| Catalogue | Periodic comet 10P · discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1873 |
| Type | Periodic comet |
| Distance | ≈ 66 million km from Earth (0.44 AU) |
| Field | 79.6′ × 53.2′ |
| Scale | 0.81″ / pixel |
| Orientation | −3° · north up |
| RA (centre) | 21h 27m 47s |
| DEC (centre) | −17° 10′ 51″ |
| Constellation | Capricornus |
| Objects in field | 10P/Tempel · dust trail · 4 background galaxies |
Distance from the comet to Earth on 16 July 2026 calculated with JPL Horizons; the real width only applies at the comet's distance, because the stars and galaxies in the field are much farther away. The comet's position was measured on the image, not taken from the astrometry. Distances to the galaxies estimated from the SIMBAD redshift (Hubble's law, H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc), so they are approximate.
3 h 20 min of light
Each tick is a 60-second exposure. 200 in total, with the camera at −10 °C and gain 100. Calibrated with 30 darks, 30 flats and 30 bias. The Moon stayed below 10 % illumination throughout.
Carbon Newton 10' f/4
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Twinstar Friction Mount FG80
Askar M54 OAG · ZWO ASI120MM Mini
TS-Optics Maxfield .95X Coma Corrector
Adobe Photoshop · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)
São Pedro da Gafanhoeira, Évora · 358 m
Bortle 3