{"id":54236,"date":"2024-02-02T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/94063d16-06e4-4159-bb6a-508b9e975470"},"modified":"2024-02-02T09:32:33","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T09:32:33","slug":"photograph-comet-144p-kushida-as-it-crosses-the-hyades-star-cluster-this-month","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/photograph-comet-144p-kushida-as-it-crosses-the-hyades-star-cluster-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Photograph Comet 144P\/Kushida as it crosses the Hyades star cluster this month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following Comet 144P\/Kushida? You’re in for a treat in February 2024 as it passes the Hyades star cluster. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 02 February 2024 at 08:00 AM<\/p>

\n\n

If you’ve been following Comet 144P\/Kushida<\/a>, you’re in for a treat in February as the comet passes the V-shaped Hyades cluster, and in this guide we’ll show you how to photograph it.<\/p>

Taurus is famous for two large, bright clusters. Arguably, the more compact and vibrant form of the Pleiades<\/a>, M45, tends to steal the show, but the older, more dispersed form of the Hyades<\/a> is impressive in its own right.<\/p>

Located adjacent to the bright-red giant Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), the Hyades is easy to locate.<\/p>

Find out which comets and asteroids are in the sky tonight<\/a> and the 5 brightest comets in 2024<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

A close look at 144P\/Kushida\u2019s path through the Hyades, with positions correct for 20:00 UT on the dates shown. Comet\u2019s appearance exaggerated for clarity. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

This month, as well as being a beautiful and well-placed object for photographing on its own, there\u2019s a bonus because comet 144P\/Kushida will be traversing along the southern arm of the cluster\u2019s sideways V-shaped pattern, towards and past Aldebaran<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>

The Hyades is the closest true open star cluster<\/a> to the Sun, lying at a distance of 153 lightyears.<\/p>

Although it appears that Aldebaran is part of the cluster, it\u2019s not.<\/p>

Located just 65 lightyears away, it\u2019s less than half the cluster\u2019s distance, the alignment simply being a line-of-sight effect.\u00a0<\/p>

\"Chart
Chart showing the location of Comet 144P\/Kushida throughout February and March 2024. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Capturing the Hyades and Aldebaran<\/strong><\/h2>

Photographically, Aldebaran is easy to record.<\/p>

Shining at mag. 0.8, it\u2019s a bright and easy-to-spot naked-eye star \u2013 just follow the line made by Orion\u2019s Belt<\/a> to the upper right, as seen from the UK, and this will bring you straight to it.<\/p>

Many of the Hyades\u2019 stars are also visible to the naked eye, forming a shape like a capital \u2018V\u2019 tilted onto its side.<\/p>

In terms of the constellation Taurus, the pattern is supposed to represent the head of Taurus the Bull, Aldebaran being one eye and the star at the end of the northern arm, Ain (Epsilon Tauri), the other.\u00a0<\/p>

The \u2018V\u2019 shape is fairly large, each arm measuring 4\u00b0 in length.<\/p>

\"hyades
The Hyades open cluster. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

They converge at mag. 3.6 Gamma Tauri. Comet 144P\/Kushida is due to pass this star on the night of 4\/5 February, thereafter tracking along the southern arm of the Hyades until it reaches Aldebaran on the night of 10\/11 February.\u00a0<\/p>

With a predicted magnitude of 9.2 at this time, 144P\/Kushida is within range of many basic camera setups.<\/p>

Covering 4\u00b0 in six nights, its apparent speed isn\u2019t too fast, making it suitable for multi-minute exposures tracked on the stars.<\/p>

For comets<\/a> with a high apparent speed, guiding on the comet\u2019s head is required, but that\u2019s not the case here.<\/p>

Being such a large cluster, a mid- or widefield lens is recommended.<\/p>

Using a full-frame camera, a 300mm lens will enable you to include the cluster plus some space around it, allowing it to \u2018breathe\u2019 in the image.<\/p>

\"The
The Pleiades, the Hyades and Jupiter. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Go shorter than this and the cluster will feel constrained in the shot.<\/p>

An alternative is to go even wider and include both the Hyades and Pleiades in a single shot.<\/p>

Here, the comet should still be obvious, but its coma \u2013 the glow around the nucleus region \u2013 may appear small. Also consider colour.<\/p>

Aldebaran and the older stars of the Hyades are orange in colour.<\/p>

The Pleiades appear white-blue, long exposures revealing a delicate blue reflection nebula.<\/p>

Comets tend to have a greenish hue. As a result, preserving and recording colour as best you can could lead to a very interesting image.\u00a0<\/p>

For more advice, read out guide on how to photograph a comet<\/a><\/p>

Equipment<\/strong><\/h2>