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Nighttime_at_Alien_Th...jpg
Nighttime at Alien Throne
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![Comet C/2023 A3 over Cathedral Rock. Folks have been sharing photos of his comet [officially known as Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)] for months, and it has been particularly bright this month (October 2024) after it passed behind the sun and arrived at its closest point to Earth. So I went out on Oct. 14 with a couple of friends to capture it as it set behind Cathedral Rock.<br />
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But alas – I had miscalculated a bit the position from which this view could be captured, so as the comet dropped towards the horizon, it was off to the right of Sedona’s most iconic red rock formation instead of being in the saddle. I was easily able to capture the rocks and the comet separately, but I needed to be farther south to get the alignment I envisioned.<br />
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All was not lost, however, thanks to the digital imaging tools that we have these days. These allowed me to create the view that I would have captured, had we been in the right spot, by merging the two photos. That seems (to me) almost as good as capturing it as it happened; hope you enjoy it!<br />
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This is a pretty technical photo. Here are a few things to note… <br />
1) I captured it with my “full spectrum” camera, a Nikon D800E that has been modified to accept ultraviolet and infrared light in addition to visible light. This makes the comet and its tails stand out from the sky more than a conventional camera would.<br />
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2) The moon was nearly full on this night, illuminating both the sky and the rocks more than one would otherwise expect (that’s why the sky is blue rather than black). The full spectrum camera probably helps make the tails more visible under these conditions.<br />
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3) You’ll note that I mention plural tails. That’s because a faint one can be seen extending down (toward the sun) from the comet’s head in addition to the brighter and wider one extending upward (away from the sun). The faint one is called an “antitail” - see below for more info*. <br />
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4) You might also notice the light beneath the sad](https://www.sedonajim.photos/img-get/I0000k.f6kdOIhP8/t/200/I0000k.f6kdOIhP8.jpg)
Comet-C-2023-A3-over-...jpg
Comet C/2023 A3 over Cathedral Rock
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Invisible-Fluorescenc...jpg
Invisible Fluorescence (Infrared)
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Comet-NEOWISE-over-Th...jpg
Comet NEOWISE over The Verde Valley, Arizona
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Six-Shooter-Peak-Utah...jpg
Six Shooter Peak, Utah (Infrared)