Latest Images of Comet Elenin: Not Much to See

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A series of images of Comet Elenin taken on October 21, 2011 might show an “extremely faint and diffuse blob of light,” according to Ernesto Guido, Giovanni Sostero and Nick Howes, who used two remote telescopes in New Mexico to image again the field of view where Comet Elenin should be. Their first observing session with a 10” reflector showed no obvious moving object in the telescope’s field of view, while the second session a 0.1 meter refractor showed a hint of something moving in the background when images taken 2 hours apart were “blinked,” but interference from moonlight hasn’t been ruled out.

The trio of astronomers encourage other observers to confirm or refute this view with additional observations/images. “We suggest the use of wide-field, fast focal ratio scopes, possibly under very good sky conditions,” they said.

You can see more at the Remanzacco Observatory website, including a video of the “blinking.”