Comet c/2022 E3 ZTF Featuring a Rare Anti-Tail During a Disconnection Event
Alqueva´s Dark Sky Reserve | By Year: 2023 | Deep Sky Wide Field
The image shows a close-up view of Comet c/2022 E3 (ZTF) during 19th January 2023. Besides featuring a wonderful greenish coma from glowing carbon gas and rare anti-tail, something unusual was happening with the long ion tail, what is called a disconnection event. A piece of Comet ZTF’s tail has been disconnected and is being carried away by the solar wind. The comet was photographed late in the night at a distance of 79 million Km from Dark Sky® Alqueva Observatory in Portugal, three hours before starts the astronomical twilight. This long distance traveller not seen in 50,000 years, is moving fast against the background starry sky, and that night it was located between constellations of Hercules, Corona Borealis and Bootes, showing a faint visual magnitude of +6.6. Although on 1st February the Comet it will be in the closest point to our planet and eventually until then could reach a naked eye magnitude, but this kind of objects are pretty unpredictable and we never know what surprise is waiting for us.
PT: A imagem revela um close-up do Cometa c/2022 E3 (ZTF) durante a noite de 19 de janeiro de 2023. Além de apresentar um maravilhosa coma esverdeada proveniente do brilho do gás carbono, e uma rara anti-cauda, algo incomum estava também a ocorrer com a longa cauda de iões, designado por evento de desconexão. Um pedaço da cauda do cometa ZTF desconectou-se e está a ser levado pelo vento solar. O cometa foi fotografado no final da noite a uma distância de 79 milhões de Km a partir do Observatório Dark Sky® Alqueva em Portugal, três horas antes do início do crepúsculo astronómico. Este viajante longínquo que não se avistava há cerca de 50.000 anos, move-se muito rapidamente contra o fundo do céu estrelado, e naquela noite estava localizado entre as constelações de Hercules, Coroa Boreal e Boieiro, mostrando uma fraca magnitude visual de +6,6. Embora a 1 de Fevereiro o cometa esteja no ponto mais próximo do nosso planeta e eventualmente até então possa atingir uma magnitude visível a olho nu, este tipo de objectos é bastante imprevisível e nunca sabemos que surpresa nos reserva.
Below are two still shots presented in portrait version, intended to help conduct the reader attention to the most interesting parts of the image.
PT: Abaixo estão duas fotos apresentadas em uma versão retrato com o objetivo intencional de ajudar a conduzir a atenção do leitor para as partes mais interessantes da imagem.
Technical details | Detalhes Técnicos
Taka FSQ-106ED at F5 – EM200 auto-guidedi n Asiair Pro | Nikon D850 mod | ISO3200 – Sub Exp. 200 seconds x 14 lights | Total integration: 47 minutes. Processing on PixInsight 1.8.9-1 and Photoshop CC 2023. Cumeada Observatory from Dark Sky® Alqueva Reserve, Reguengos de Monsaraz.
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