Comet Halley -

Comet Halley

Comet Halley, which was subject of Charles Messier’s first observing project

and the first comet he discovered (though lately), as it appeared in at its

1985-86 apparation (the most recent), in mid-March 1986.

This gorgeous Halley shot has that little diamond asterism down by M75 in it

(below Halley’s head, at the bottom of the image).

Faint globular cluster M75 may be found in this

image: From the most left of the three conspicuous stars left and just above

Halley’s head, go to the fainter star above and left. This star forms a less

conspicuous, nearly rectangular triangle with two other faint stars above and

left of it. On the line connecting it with the most left edge, a diffuse starlike

spot can be found; this is globular cluster M75.

This image was taken by

with a 100mm lens wide open (!) at f/2.8, 10 min. exposure on 3M1000.

Note the length of the gas tail along the bottom of the frame in the