Observations 10/15/2024

Richard P. Hill

Present: Alyssa Ebeling

10/15/2024

I have been trying to get this picture for the last few days. I originally planned to go to another tower on the Monday before this report, but it was raining. I also planned to get this picture from a beach in Michigan, but it was overcast then. Finally, it cleared up, and I went out to get the picture at Lapham Peak near Delafield, Wisconsin. It was extremely cold. It was around forty-five degrees Fahrenheit, but quite windy, and a big surprise, there was no cover from the wind on top of a tower in a forest.

Clouds rolled in several times, and I planned to get the shot earlier to go back. I couldn't feel my hands or feet, but it was well worth it. I tried using my ZWO Seestar S50, but it wouldn't track the comet since it couldn't figure out its relative position using the stars. This was because of a large amount of light on the horizon near the comet; thus, I went with my backup plan. I ended up using my Sony A7 III with a 50mm lens. The name of the comet is Tsuchinshan-ATLAS and is designated C/2023 A3.