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Astrophotography

Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto
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Thanks Jeff, I appreciate your comments.

I do have to correct a mistake that I made on my post.  The correct name of the comet in the movie is C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto not F1.  I don't know how I came up with F1. Maybe I just have too many comets in my head.  I did image another comet earlier in Nov. of 2018 with the named Iwamoto, but actually it's full name was C/2018 V1 Macholtz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto.

 

I don't know if many know how comets are named, but this is a short stab at it:

There are normally two types of comets designated with normally either a P or C at the front end.  Here are all of the designations that are used currently.

 

  • P/ indicates a periodic comet (defined for these purposes as any comet with an orbital period of less than 200 years or confirmed observations at more than one perihelion passage).[5]
  • C/ indicates a non-periodic comet (defined as any comet that is not periodic, but with an orbit designated more than 200 years.)
  • X/ indicates a comet for which no reliable orbit could be calculated (generally, historical comets).
  • D/ indicates a periodic comet that has disappeared, broken up, or been lost.[5]
  • A/ indicates an object that was mistakenly identified as a comet, but is actually a minor planet. Only three such objects have been classified as such, 'Oumuamua (A/2017 U1), A/2017 U7, and A/2018 C2.

After the comets' orbit is determined next comes the year and month of when it was discovered.  Short period comets are not given a year/month in the name, just a number along with the discoverers' name.

 

As of recently, there were 5253 total comets that have been discovered.

 

Longer period comets are given a letter to designate the part of the month of discovery, and a number to indicate whether it's the 1st, 2nd or so on comet discovered during that period.  Example: "A1" would be for a comet discovered from Jan 1 to Jan 15 and "B1" would be for discoveries from Jan 16 to the end of the month, and so forth. 

The number 1 after the letter shows that it's the first discovery for that period.  The letter "I" is not used because it would be confused with the number 1 and "Z" is not used because only 24 letters are needed. 

 

Actually the number or year and month is the more unique part of a comets' name, not the discoverers' name.  That's because a discoverer may have their name associate with several comets.  Over the past 20 yrs. the discover is more likely to be one of several survey groups such as PanSTARRS, NEAR, LINEAR, SOLO, etc.

A discoverer gets their name on the comet, plus up to 2 others can be added for a total of 3, if they report their discovery to the IAU within 24 hrs. of the first discovery.

 

I hope that comes across clear. 

 

Anyway, sorry for the mistake.  I wanted to correct it because someone may try to searching for it on their planetary program and get confused.

 

Johnny

 

 

 

   

 

-----Original Message-----
From: "Astrophotography" <astrophotography@centexastronomy.org>
Sent: Monday, March 4, 2019 5:52am
To: "johnnyb@reagan.com" <johnnyb@reagan.com>
Subject: re: Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto <<$225226322656$>>




Johnny,
I particularly liked the movie. Showed it around and got some "wow"s. Good work!
On Sat, Mar 2, 2019 at 11:32 AM Astrophotography <astrophotography@centexastronomy.org> wrote:
Hey guys, It's been miserable weather these past few days, and even weeks, with few opportunities to get out a do any observing. So, I thought I'd share some of what I've been able to do recently. Noting spectacular, but hope you all find interesting.
Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto that was discovered in Dec. of last year, brightened to about 7th mag. in early Feb. But, there wasn't a good night until Feb. 12, and then there was a waxing Moon around. It's motion was about 10 arc sec. a min. then that limited exp. to 30 sec. It never developed a bright enough tail for me to reveal with that short of exposures. We did get a good night on Feb. 24/25 and I got out and managed to image 3 comets. 123P/West-Hartley, 60P/Tsuchinshan and 2018C/F1 Iwamoto. 123P and 60P were both very distance comets, but surprisingly displayed decent tails, while Iwamoto raced across the sky pulling away from Earth.
Here's a video that I made of comet Iwamoto with 23 images of 35sec each. A hint of a tail can be detected trailing opposite the direction of travel. It traveled approx. 3.25 arc. min. across the sky during 34 min. of time. There's a little juggle due to tracking errors.
Comet 123P/West-Hartley is a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. showing a fan tail, and with a small galaxy towards the top of the image that I haven't been able to identify. Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is also a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. It's at a distance of 168 million miles, but is displaying a very nice tail. The 11.9mag. galaxy NGC 3818 is near center, with another galaxy at the very top edge that I can't identify and a few very small galaxies at the bottom. 60P was at approx. 14mag.
Looks like we might get a couple of good nights next week, but it's going to be cold.Attachment(s):
2018F1Iwamoto_Small.mp4 (782.5 KB)
5X60-60P2-24-19.jpg (735.2 KB)
5X60123P.jpg (771.6 KB)


Johnny,

I particularly liked the movie. Showed it around and got some "wow"s. Good work!

On Sat, Mar 2, 2019 at 11:32 AM Astrophotography <astrophotography@centexastronomy.org> wrote:
Hey guys, It's been miserable weather these past few days, and even weeks, with few opportunities to get out a do any observing. So, I thought I'd share some of what I've been able to do recently. Noting spectacular, but hope you all find interesting.
Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto that was discovered in Dec. of last year, brightened to about 7th mag. in early Feb. But, there wasn't a good night until Feb. 12, and then there was a waxing Moon around. It's motion was about 10 arc sec. a min. then that limited exp. to 30 sec. It never developed a bright enough tail for me to reveal with that short of exposures. We did get a good night on Feb. 24/25 and I got out and managed to image 3 comets. 123P/West-Hartley, 60P/Tsuchinshan and 2018C/F1 Iwamoto. 123P and 60P were both very distance comets, but surprisingly displayed decent tails, while Iwamoto raced across the sky pulling away from Earth.
Here's a video that I made of comet Iwamoto with 23 images of 35sec each. A hint of a tail can be detected trailing opposite the direction of travel. It traveled approx. 3.25 arc. min. across the sky during 34 min. of time. There's a little juggle due to tracking errors.
Comet 123P/West-Hartley is a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. showing a fan tail, and with a small galaxy towards the top of the image that I haven't been able to identify. Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is also a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. It's at a distance of 168 million miles, but is displaying a very nice tail. The 11.9mag. galaxy NGC 3818 is near center, with another galaxy at the very top edge that I can't identify and a few very small galaxies at the bottom. 60P was at approx. 14mag.
Looks like we might get a couple of good nights next week, but it's going to be cold.
Attachment(s):
2018F1Iwamoto_Small.mp4 (782.5 KB)
5X60-60P2-24-19.jpg (735.2 KB)
5X60123P.jpg (771.6 KB)
Excellent work Johnny.

Aubrey

-----Original Message-----
From: mailer@mail2.clubexpress.com <mailer@mail2.clubexpress.com> On Behalf Of Astrophotography
Sent: Saturday, March 02, 2019 11:32 AM
To: abrickhouse1@att.net
Subject: Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto <<$225146665502$>>




Hey guys, It's been miserable weather these past few days, and even weeks, with few opportunities to get out a do any observing. So, I thought I'd share some of what I've been able to do recently. Noting spectacular, but hope you all find interesting.
Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto that was discovered in Dec. of last year, brightened to about 7th mag. in early Feb. But, there wasn't a good night until Feb. 12, and then there was a waxing Moon around. It's motion was about 10 arc sec. a min. then that limited exp. to 30 sec. It never developed a bright enough tail for me to reveal with that short of exposures. We did get a good night on Feb. 24/25 and I got out and managed to image 3 comets. 123P/West-Hartley, 60P/Tsuchinshan and 2018C/F1 Iwamoto. 123P and 60P were both very distance comets, but surprisingly displayed decent tails, while Iwamoto raced across the sky pulling away from Earth.
Here's a video that I made of comet Iwamoto with 23 images of 35sec each. A hint of a tail can be detected trailing opposite the direction of travel. It traveled approx. 3.25 arc. min. across the sky during 34 min. of time. There's a little juggle due to tracking errors.
Comet 123P/West-Hartley is a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. showing a fan tail, and with a small galaxy towards the top of the image that I haven't been able to identify. Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is also a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. It's at a distance of 168 million miles, but is displaying a very nice tail. The 11.9mag. galaxy NGC 3818 is near center, with another galaxy at the very top edge that I can't identify and a few very small galaxies at the bottom. 60P was at approx. 14mag.
Looks like we might get a couple of good nights next week, but it's going to be cold.

Attachment(s):
File: 2018F1Iwamoto_Small.mp4 (782.5 KB) -- Address: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/901132/attach/2251466_0_2018F1Iwamoto_Small.mp4
File: 5X60-60P2-24-19.jpg (735.2 KB) -- Address: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/901132/attach/2251466_1_5X60-60P2-24-19.jpg
File: 5X60123P.jpg (771.6 KB) -- Address: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/901132/attach/2251466_2_5X60123P.jpg




60P has got a nice tail.

Dave


---------- Original Message ----------
From: "Astrophotography" <astrophotography@centexastronomy.org>
To: "jde209@netzero.net" <jde209@netzero.net>
Subject: Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto <<$225146665502$>>
Date: Sat, 02 Mar 2019 11:32:04 -0600




Hey guys, It's been miserable weather these past few days, and even weeks, with few opportunities to get out a do any observing. So, I thought I'd share some of what I've been able to do recently. Noting spectacular, but hope you all find interesting.
Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto that was discovered in Dec. of last year, brightened to about 7th mag. in early Feb. But, there wasn't a good night until Feb. 12, and then there was a waxing Moon around. It's motion was about 10 arc sec. a min. then that limited exp. to 30 sec. It never developed a bright enough tail for me to reveal with that short of exposures. We did get a good night on Feb. 24/25 and I got out and managed to image 3 comets. 123P/West-Hartley, 60P/Tsuchinshan and 2018C/F1 Iwamoto. 123P and 60P were both very distance comets, but surprisingly displayed decent tails, while Iwamoto raced across the sky pulling away from Earth.
Here's a video that I made of comet Iwamoto with 23 images of 35sec each. A hint of a tail can be detected trailing opposite the direction of travel. It traveled approx. 3.25 arc. min. across the sky during 34 min. of time. There's a little juggle due to tracking errors.
Comet 123P/West-Hartley is a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. showing a fan tail, and with a small galaxy towards the top of the image that I haven't been able to identify. Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is also a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. It's at a distance of 168 million miles, but is displaying a very nice tail. The 11.9mag. galaxy NGC 3818 is near center, with another galaxy at the very top edge that I can't identify and a few very small galaxies at the bottom. 60P was at approx. 14mag.
Looks like we might get a couple of good nights next week, but it's going to be cold.

Attachment(s):
File: 2018F1Iwamoto_Small.mp4 (782.5 KB) -- Address: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/901132/attach/2251466_0_2018F1Iwamoto_Small.mp4
File: 5X60-60P2-24-19.jpg (735.2 KB) -- Address: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/901132/attach/2251466_1_5X60-60P2-24-19.jpg
File: 5X60123P.jpg (771.6 KB) -- Address: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/901132/attach/2251466_2_5X60123P.jpg



Thanks for chasing those comets, Johnny. I love the video.

Willie


> On Mar 2, 2019, at 11:32 AM, Astrophotography <astrophotography@centexastronomy.org> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Hey guys, It's been miserable weather these past few days, and even weeks, with few opportunities to get out a do any observing. So, I thought I'd share some of what I've been able to do recently. Noting spectacular, but hope you all find interesting.
> Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto that was discovered in Dec. of last year, brightened to about 7th mag. in early Feb. But, there wasn't a good night until Feb. 12, and then there was a waxing Moon around. It's motion was about 10 arc sec. a min. then that limited exp. to 30 sec. It never developed a bright enough tail for me to reveal with that short of exposures. We did get a good night on Feb. 24/25 and I got out and managed to image 3 comets. 123P/West-Hartley, 60P/Tsuchinshan and 2018C/F1 Iwamoto. 123P and 60P were both very distance comets, but surprisingly displayed decent tails, while Iwamoto raced across the sky pulling away from Earth.
> Here's a video that I made of comet Iwamoto with 23 images of 35sec each. A hint of a tail can be detected trailing opposite the direction of travel. It traveled approx. 3.25 arc. min. across the sky during 34 min. of time. There's a little juggle due to tracking errors.
> Comet 123P/West-Hartley is a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. showing a fan tail, and with a small galaxy towards the top of the image that I haven't been able to identify. Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is also a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. It's at a distance of 168 million miles, but is displaying a very nice tail. The 11.9mag. galaxy NGC 3818 is near center, with another galaxy at the very top edge that I can't identify and a few very small galaxies at the bottom. 60P was at approx. 14mag.
> Looks like we might get a couple of good nights next week, but it's going to be cold.
>
> Attachment(s):
> File: 2018F1Iwamoto_Small.mp4 (782.5 KB) -- Address: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/901132/attach/2251466_0_2018F1Iwamoto_Small.mp4
> File: 5X60-60P2-24-19.jpg (735.2 KB) -- Address: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/901132/attach/2251466_1_5X60-60P2-24-19.jpg
> File: 5X60123P.jpg (771.6 KB) -- Address: http://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/901132/attach/2251466_2_5X60123P.jpg
>
>
>
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>
Hey guys, It's been miserable weather these past few days, and even weeks, with few opportunities to get out a do any observing. So, I thought I'd share some of what I've been able to do recently. Noting spectacular, but hope you all find interesting.
Comet 2018 F1/Iwamoto that was discovered in Dec. of last year, brightened to about 7th mag. in early Feb. But, there wasn't a good night until Feb. 12, and then there was a waxing Moon around. It's motion was about 10 arc sec. a min. then that limited exp. to 30 sec. It never developed a bright enough tail for me to reveal with that short of exposures. We did get a good night on Feb. 24/25 and I got out and managed to image 3 comets. 123P/West-Hartley, 60P/Tsuchinshan and 2018C/F1 Iwamoto. 123P and 60P were both very distance comets, but surprisingly displayed decent tails, while Iwamoto raced across the sky pulling away from Earth.
Here's a video that I made of comet Iwamoto with 23 images of 35sec each. A hint of a tail can be detected trailing opposite the direction of travel. It traveled approx. 3.25 arc. min. across the sky during 34 min. of time. There's a little juggle due to tracking errors.
Comet 123P/West-Hartley is a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. showing a fan tail, and with a small galaxy towards the top of the image that I haven't been able to identify. Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is also a stack of 5-60 sec. exp. It's at a distance of 168 million miles, but is displaying a very nice tail. The 11.9mag. galaxy NGC 3818 is near center, with another galaxy at the very top edge that I can't identify and a few very small galaxies at the bottom. 60P was at approx. 14mag.
Looks like we might get a couple of good nights next week, but it's going to be cold.
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