Comet Lovejoy passing M-76

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Photographer:

John Dolby

Location of Photo:

Tucson, AZ USA

Date/Time of photo:

February 16, 2015; 7:57 PM MST

Equipment:

Telescope: Celestron CPC-1100 with Starizona's HyperStar lens (f/2); Camera: Canon 6D, ISO-6400; Exposure Time: 6 Seconds

Description:

Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2 (left) with 4th-magnitude Phi Persei (center) and 10.1 magnitude M-76, the "Little Dumbbell" (upper right), on the evening of February 16, 2015. Closest to farthest, the comet was about 100 million miles away, Phi Persei about 700 lightyears, and M-76 around 2,500 lightyears. The comet and the little planetary nebula were seperated by roughly 2 degrees.