First Light - Comet C/2012 S1 ISON

Photographed at 5.30am  on the 10th of November
using a tripod mounted Canon 600D DSLR with a
Canon EOS telephoto lens at focal length f = 90mm
(11x5 sec light exposures at ISO 1600 stacked with flats and darks using DeepSkyStacker and finished using APS). 

Enlarged area in vicinity of comet

Sky map showing position of comet
 in the constellation Virgo this morning at 5.30 am.

Well this was the second morning this week that I got up at 4.00am.  Success on my second attempt at catching a very few photons from Comet C/2012 S1 ISON as it hurtled towards the Sun at 105,000 mph and accelerating. This morning the comet was approximately 91 million miles distant from Earth and 70 million miles away from the Sun. It will have its closest encounter with the Sun (perihelion) on the 28th of November. Lets hope it gets a lot brighter and sports a long tail!
For live feed follow link:
http://www.cometison2013.co.uk/perihelion-and-distance/

I took the photographs from a vantage point on Pakefield Cliff looking out over the North Sea.  I must say it was jolly cold and I needed some tea and thawing out when I got back home at about 6.30 am. A bonus was a fine view of the planet Mercury rising above a bank of clouds on the the horizon.

Mercury shines bright over a calm North Sea
Ship or gas platform lights can be seen on the horizon.

For a brilliant animation, by a UK amateur astronomer, of the International Space Station passing in front of Comet ISON  follow link:
http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/199496-iss-passing-comet-ison/

For fantastic images:
http://www.damianpeach.com/ison.htm

NASA, Stereo spacecraft, video of Comet ISON incoming to meet the Sun:
http://www.space.com/23752-best-yet-comet-ison-footage-from-stereo-released-video.html

Update 29th November 2013: Comet ISON RIP (ripped into pieces)

Since the morning of the 10th November, the weather in Lowestoft has been very poor and consequently, I have been unable to capture any further images of the comet on its inward journey towards the Sun.  Sadly, it would appear that the comet nucleus has broken into pieces as it passed around the Sun.  Yesterday, the comet, travelling in excess of 800,000 mph., came within 2 million kilometers of the Sun's photosphere and was subjected to both excessive heating and gravitational forces. Bearing in mind that the nucleus of a comet has a rather variable aggregate composition of dust and ice, the ability of each and every comet to survive an encounter with the Sun is generally unknown until the event occurs.  Sun grazing comets like Comet ISON, as they pass so close to the Sun, are particularly vulnerable to disintegration.  There is however, some hope that at least one large fragment of the nucleus has survived and may yet become visible as a very faint object in our skies.  I really hope so and if so I shall be out at dawn to try to photograph it!

Comet C/2012 S1 ISON's Grand Finale
as seen by the SOHO satellite

To see more of the comet's final approach to the Sun follow link:
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011400/a011422/index.html

Credits: NASA ESA & NASA/SOHO/SDO , Base Map by SkyMap Pro and Toot for getting me up and making breakfast and lunch - what a star!