Comet PanSTARRS (C/2017 T2) in Perseus

On February 2, 2020, 9th magnitude Comet PanSTARRS (C2017 T2) flew through the constellation Perseus near the Double Cluster (NGC 869) and the Heart and Soul Nebulae (IC 1805 and IC 1848). This photo captures the comet at the bottom center of the frame as a green-blue fuzzy coma with a very short tail. The comet at this time was approximately 244 million km away. The deep sky objects in the field are around 8,000 light YEARS away. Hard to put distances into perspective at the cosmic scale. This comet will be with us for a few months and may be seen very nicely in a 50mm pair of binoculars. For more information, please see the Sky and Telescope article here. Also, for an up to date location of the comet, see you favorite astronomy app. I use Sky Safari on the iPhone. Screen shot from the app is below.

Comet C/2017 T2 PanSTARRS. Click on image for larger presentation.

80 one minute exposures were combined and centered on the comet. Camera was the Canon Ra at ISO 1600 on the William Optics Redcat 51.

Comet on the night of February 2, 2020.