There are many worlds and many systems of Universes existing all at the same time, all of them perishable.

— Anaximander 546 BC

Comets

cometJACQUE

cometJACQUE

This a mosaic of one 2x2 10 mi exposure of Comet Jacque trail thru the stars.  The upper right side shows two 4x4 combined 10 min images total of 20 min exposure.  The line in the image shows two stars that are the same in both images, showing just how fast the comet is moving.  Taken with 5" Explore Scientific Triplet on iOptron iEQ45 mount guided on a star with Lodestar X2 guider and imaged with StarlightExpress SXVR-H9 ccd Thursday September 4, '14 Manchester, NJ

Hartley heading into Auriga

Hartley heading into Auriga

103P Hartley caught on the border between Perseus and Auriga. The comet is getting brighter and the detectable coma is now almost full moon sized in my CCD. It is really picking up speed. You can see it in these sixty second shots in white, red green and blue light. The different images (taken last night) were stacked using the comet as the registration point. The spacing and direction between the misaligned stars (resulting in a trail of Red Green Blue and white dots) betrays the direction of motion and the reckless speed of this interplanetary visitor.

Comet Hartley in Cassiopea Midnight October 1

Comet Hartley in Cassiopea Midnight October 1

LRGB composite of Comet 103P Hartley as it was moving last night located about 2 degrees south east of Alpha Cassiopeae. Even during this short exposure totaling 25 minutes (10 mins for luminance and 5 minutes each for RGB) the comet managed to move almost 2 arc minutes. This can be seen in the elongated shape of the comet inner coma which is due to its motion. The comet sports no apparent tail. The outer coma in this picture is about 15 arc minutes in diameter or half the size of the moon.

comet 103pHartley2

comet 103pHartley2

combined over 30 one minute images which were used to make the video.  some images removed when the comet approach a bright star.  false color added.

Comet 103p/Hartley2

This video was taken with my newly purchased Astrotech 111EDT telescope, Starlight Xpress ccd SVXF-H9 and guider, on a CGEM mount, 37x60 sec images combined of Comet 103p/Hartley2. Wait and watch as the comet moves between two stars and ends past another bright star (I did not get their names). Taken from Whiting, New Jersey

Arctic Mystery: Identifying the Great Blob of Alaska

A group of hunters aboard a small boat out of the tiny Alaska village of Wainwright were the first to spot what would eventually be called "the blob." It was a dark, floating mass stretching for miles through the Chukchi Sea, a frigid and relatively shallow expanse of Arctic Ocean water between Alaska's northwest coast and the Russian Far East. The goo was fibrous, hairy. When it touched floating ice, it looked almost black.
Read full article here:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0%2c8599%2c1911517%2c00.html

and some more here
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_sc826

Comet Lulin

Comet Lulin Chart

Here is a finder chart for Comet Lulin which is gettign brighter now. It will soon be near the bright star Spica. This is for about 1:00 am. Later in the morning hours the comet will be higher in the sky.
 

Two-Tailed Comet Nearing Earth

Comet Lulin

A fresh new face has moved into our neighborhood, but once it swings by Earth next month, it may never come back. Comet Lulin is currently sailing through the inner solar system and is getting closer to our home planet, with its nearest approach expected in late February

Read more on National Geographic News by Victoria Jaggard

Comet Boattini

C/2007 W1 (Boattini):  

Keep an eye on this comet - it may reach 6th magnitude or better during early evening hours in late May before it gets too close to the Sun. See: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/Ephemerides/Comets/2007W1.html 

Looks like it'll actually get quite close to Earth but unfortuantely will be in the daytime sky at that point and so not viewable. :-(