Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3

Comet 73P Schwassmann-Wachmann was discovered in the 1930's. It is quite a faint comet and on several of it's returns it has been missed altogether. In 1995 the comet was seen to fragment and has traveled through it's orbit in several pieces since then. In it's 2006 return it comes very close to earth. As a result it is brighter than normal. These are my attempts to image the comet through my 6" F6 reflector (focally reduced to F4). The images are stacks of about 50 x 10s images each using a Long Exposure (LX) modified Vesta webcam with a Black & White replacement CCD. The comet is relatively small and faint and I image from a very light polluted area... well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it ;o).

On April the 21st (ish) Comet fragment B was seen to split and I was pleased to capture this in the image below on the 24th. Roll over the image on the left to see a labelled version of the image. The Image to the right is from the ESO Very Large Telescope in Chile and shows much more detail in the split nucleus of the comet. Click the ESO image to go to the ESO site.

Some more images of Fragment B and fragment C

The break up of fragment B is quite evident over the two weeks or so that these images span.

May 9 - 10th 2006

The B fragment of the comet seems to have brightened considerably. I took two sequences of images of this fragment using a Vesta 675 LX with B/W CCD, through my 6" F6 reflector. One image at F4 (with a Mogg 0.6 focal reducer) and one at F6 (Newtonian focus)
The upper image is a stack of 55 x 5 second images, the lower image is a stack of 40 x 8 second images.

In contrast to the B fragment, the C fragmant is much fainter. It was also lower in the sky and therefore the image is more adversly affected by light pollution and atmospheric extinction. This is a stack of 75 x 5 second images (below).

11th May 2006

This is a stack of 45 x 8s images through my 6" F6 relector - focal reduced to F4.

I was going to try an image at F6 but the clouds rollen in over that part of the sky. I imaged Jupiter instead, and I was glad I did... Click here for Jupiter.

This is probably the last of my images of this comet, bad weather is forcast for the next few days - and it is rapidly becoming a morning object, a time of day when I am useless ;o)


Comet 73P Schwassmann-Wachmann was discovered in the 1930's. It is quite a faint comet and on several of it's returns it has been missed altogether. In 1995 the comet was seen to fragment and has traveled through it's orbit in several pieces since then. In it's 2006 return it comes very close to earth. As a result it is brighter than normal. These are my attempts to image the comet through my 6" F6 reflector (focally reduced to F4). The images are stacks of about 50 x 10s images each using a Long Exposure (LX) modified Vesta webcam with a Black & White replacement CCD. The comet is relatively small and faint and I image from a very light polluted area... well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it ;o). On April the 21st (ish) Comet fragment B was seen to split and I was pleased to capture this in the image below on the 24th. Roll over the image on the left to see a labelled version of the image. The Image to the right is from the ESO Very Large Telescope in Chile and shows much more detail in the split nucleus of the comet. Click the ESO image to go to the ESO site.

	Some more images of Fragment B and fragment C The break up of fragment B is quite evident over the two weeks or so that these images span.

May 9 - 10th 2006 The B fragment of the comet seems to have brightened considerably. I took two sequences of images of this fragment using a Vesta 675 LX with B/W CCD, through my 6" F6 reflector. One image at F4 (with a Mogg 0.6 focal reducer) and one at F6 (Newtonian focus) The upper image is a stack of 55 x 5 second images, the lower image is a stack of 40 x 8 second images. In contrast to the B fragment, the C fragmant is much fainter. It was also lower in the sky and therefore the image is more adversly affected by light pollution and atmospheric extinction. This is a stack of 75 x 5 second images (below).

11th May 2006 This is a stack of 45 x 8s images through my 6" F6 relector - focal reduced to F4. I was going to try an image at F6 but the clouds rollen in over that part of the sky. I imaged Jupiter instead, and I was glad I did... Click here for Jupiter. This is probably the last of my images of this comet, bad weather is forcast for the next few days - and it is rapidly becoming a morning object, a time of day when I am useless ;o)