{"id":56523,"date":"2024-03-21T13:14:09","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T13:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/399d3d94-2987-439a-bfd0-3a7ec525009d"},"modified":"2024-03-21T14:32:28","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T14:32:28","slug":"photographer-captures-spectacular-image-of-comet-12p-pons-brooks-and-the-andromeda-galaxy","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/photographer-captures-spectacular-image-of-comet-12p-pons-brooks-and-the-andromeda-galaxy\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer captures spectacular image of Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks and the Andromeda Galaxy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 21 March 2024 at 13:14 PM<\/p>

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A comet photographer has captured a spectacular image showing Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks and the Andromeda Galaxy together in the night sky.<\/p>

Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks<\/a> is currently on every comet-chaser’s lips, and many have been out at night photographing the celestial visitor and its long tail.<\/p>

Jos\u00e9 J. Chamb\u00f3 is a name known to many comet<\/a> observers due to the prolific nature of his cometographic endeavours, capturing both lesser-known comets and those that make the headlines such as 12P\/Pons-Brooks.<\/p>

Want to capture it yourself? Read our guide on how to photograph a comet<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks and the Andromeda Galaxy, by Jos\u00e9 J. Chamb\u00f3, Sierra de Enguera, Valencia, Spain, 12 March 2024. Equipment: Canon EOS 6D DSLR camera, Samyang F2.0\/135mm lens, Meade LXD-75 mount. Exposure 40 min. (40×60 sec. at ISO 800). Processed with PixInsight. Credit. Jos\u00e9 J. Chamb\u00f3 (www.cometografia.es). Click on the image to expand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Capturing the comet<\/strong><\/h2>

12P\/Pons-Brooks began March 2024 in the Andromeda constellation and is now heading into Pisces.<\/p>

One particular conjunction that had astrophotographers licking their lips at the start of the month was the prospect of capturing Pons-Brooks near the Andromeda Galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>

And Jos\u00e9 has managed just that.<\/p>

Of course, Pons-Brooks isn’t actually near the Andromeda Galaxy: it just appears that way from our perspective on Earth.<\/p>

The comet orbits our Sun, whereas the Andromeda Galaxy is about 2.5 million lightyears away.<\/p>

\"Chart
Chart showing location of Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks in April 2024, passing beneath Uranus and Jupiter. Click to expand. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Jos\u00e9 captured his image of Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks and the Andromeda Galaxy on 12 March 2024 at 19:41 UTC from Sierra de Enguera, Valencia, Spain.<\/p>

He says: “I captured the comet when it offered us a beautiful conjunction with the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) within a wide starry field about 15 degrees wide.<\/p>

“The comet, with a brightness of magnitude 5.5, showed a bluish ionic tail of at least 6 degrees in length.”<\/p>

Acquisition details<\/strong><\/h2>