Edwin Quail

Infrequently posting #astrophotographer due to clouds.
Fireworks.
More at

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Two quick pics of the #ISS passing over #Shropshire yesterday at 0115UT - upper is a single shot - lower is stack of 3 but overprocessed. SW150 + 2.5x Powermate + 600D. Had to commune with woodlice as I lay on the ground :)

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

@Globalbiosec Um.. if they die after flowering *every* 8-12 years.. is subsequent flowering undertaken by a dead plant..?

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Two cheers and "Yay!"
About time too..
https://t.co/Qh0OwIOsjY

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Good news:
https://t.co/13hMKPoKsf

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Ow!! This is not good.. https://t.co/ihIDvlkhIn

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

This is not so good for #astronomy or for many things: https://t.co/aZtXdBRl8H

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

@curiosityonx https://t.co/PU0zmfFaWs

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

@Rainmaker1973 I'd rather be able to see some stars.. even downward-shining light would be an improvement on shining light straight up!

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Quick crop of a quick stack - #Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) passing Antares below the Dark Horse nebula in the Milky Way - also visible - #asteroid #Vesta and other things. 10th Oct at Palm Beach, New South Wales. Canon 6D on Askar SQA55 on SA Pro mount. 2 versions, 2nd one has labels

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) is adjacent to the star Zubenelgenubi tonight. The brightest star in Libra, it has one of the best roll-off-the-tongue names..

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

For the closest approach between #comets #SWAN & #ATLAS on 20th Oct I went to a darkish site with everything but a power pack for the mount. Next night was problematic - windy, light leaks, I messed up the flats - hence this belated and grubby rendition - see Alt texts.

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Well the smoke pretty much cleared and I got the two comets 4.5 degrees apart in one picture, along with Mars. They're moving in different directions, so are blurred against the fixed stars. I can fix this but for now here's the quick image along with an annotated version

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

The attempt to capture two comets in one image with a diminutive telescope has been successful two nights ago from an urban environment and last night from a relatively dark (if smoke-affected) site. Will take a while to process the images..

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Hoping some of the 'controlled hazard reduction burn' smoke clears before the comet shows up

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Guess the location..

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

@sealdreams_ Good luck! You'll need a clear western horizon and a site away from light pollution - comet ATLAS is much fainter than SWAN and both will be low in the sky. Sky is darkening (good) but comets are getting lower (bad). You need to wait for the sweet spot if there is one ☄️

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

New #comet #Swan will cross paths in the sky with another, fainter comet, C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) around September 20th. Here's how they're going:
Details in next post..

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

Here are 'close-ups' of the two #comets as they appear in relation to each other and #Mars on the evenings of 20th & 21st September. Spica is out of shot. Comet #SWAN is likely to be about 2 magnitudes brighter than comet #ATLAS, but comet magnitudes are a bit - unpredictable..

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

New #comet #SWAN25B is now known as C/2025 R2 (SWAN). Here's where it will be until 30th September.
It will soon appear close to another comet - see next two posts..

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

New #comet - called (for now) #SWAN25B low in the west after sunset yesterday at 7pm in #Sydney - just below the #star Spica and #Mars (the red one). Comet tail looks to be about 2.5 degrees long but lots of light pollution and haze. Canon 6D on SQA55. Hasty processing.

[Dylan O'Donnell 🦋 @erfmufn]

You spend 40hrs on a nebula & you can't take 10 secs to...

SIGN DARK SKY PETITION
https://t.co/XAt3vCkLI0

VID RANT
https://t.co/G4w7IuRztC

Send this video to your local astronomy club. Also if the members don't sign it, kick them out of the club. Ok not really, but seriously

[Edwin Quail @EdwinQuail]

@ProfBrianCox This'll sort you out - Sean Carroll at Caltech 2018 - a PDF: https://t.co/epatI87wLa
Among other things, all a bit of a matter of definitions