Pleiades and Comet Machholz

Hello All, I managed to get another shot of Comet Machholz next to the Pleiades this time on Saturday night the 8th of January. As luck would have it, we had lost all power due to the severe weather from the night before - there was absolutely no light pollution whatsoever

It was absolutely stunning to see the winter stars rising in complete darkness, I'm really envious of my grandparents for they had no light pollution way back all those years ago! The sight of the comet next to the pleiades with the naked eye under complete darkness was super - i'll never forget it! Anyway, the shot is an 8 minute exposure taken with Konica Centuria 200 print film, which is seriously blue! goes nicely with the Pleiades though. The comet itself shows no tail!!

Enjoy, Keith..

Nice one Keith,
You should get a UPS to run equipment in the event of such a power outage,
Given the weather forecast for tomorrow, you might need one.

Nice one Keith!. The blue creates a nice effect!
Interesting to note the absence of a tail.

Nice one Keith!. The blue creates a nice effect!

Yes, great shot Keith! :shock:

Although one thing I don't like about it, and I would say its down to the film used and NOT the photographer is the kind of circular effect of the blue tinge throughout the photo. See the way it fades away, almost in circular fashion, toward the edges?

Seanie.

That circular shadow is not caused by film but is a side effect from the lens called vignetting.

To keep a lens light, small or within a certain price range the front element is made a bit smaller then it really needs to be hence the circular shadow.

A lens hood can also cause this.

Cool... Thanks John, never knew that before!