Posted March 31st, 2013

Searching for PanSTARRS

The comet PanSTARRS had just become visible in the northern hemisphere and was to be in close proximity to the thin crescent of the moon on March 12th. I had doubts that I would be able to see it in the bright dusk before it set but I headed out in the unseasonably late sub-minus-twenties temperature to attempt to get a photo. Haze on the western horizon increased my pessimism and indeed I could see no sign of the comet through my binoculars as the twilight dimmed and the viewing window passed. I took a few shots of the moon above the mountains and when it set I went home somewhat satisfied that at least I had something to show for my cold discomfort. Only when I looked at these images on my computer monitor did I realize that I actually had captured the comet with the 8 seconds of accumulated exposure. That exposure time did somewhat blur the moon as well as the comet ... I should have raised the ISO and widened the aperture to use a faster shutter speed. Still, I like the feel of this image with the panoramic crop. If you are having trouble seeing the comet on your display, it is a light smudge to the left of the center-most mountain peak.
Pentax K-5, SMC Pentax DA* 60-250mm f/4 ED [IF] SDM @ 108mm, 8s @ f/8

Comet PanSTARRS - March 20, 2013

A week later PanSTARRS’ path across the sky was lagging much further behind the sun and I was able to photograph it in darkness. Now past its brightest phase, I could just barely discern it with my naked eye after finding it through binoculars. With a 500mm focal length, framing it was a challenge and there were no bright stars in that area of the sky to use for reference. But with 25 seconds of exposure while using the geotracer function of my GPS to correct for the earth's rotation, I was able to record some very satisfying images of the comet.
Pentax K-5, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM @ 500mm, 25s @ f/6.7, ISO 560, Pentax O-GPS1