About this Object:
Comet Hartley 2, officially designated 103P/Hartley, is a small periodic comet with an orbital period of 6.46 years. It was discovered by Malcolm Hartley in 1986 at the Schmidt Telescope Unit in Siding Spring, Australia. Its diameter is estimated to be 1.2 to 1.6 km. It will be the subject of a flyby by the Deep Impact spacecraft on November 4, 2010, with a closest approach of 700 kilometers.

About this Photo:
Date(s): October 7, 2010
Location: From my driveway in Georgetown, Texas
Telescope: Orion ED80 @ F7.5
Mount: HEQ-5
Guiding: Orion StarShoot AutoGuider / Taurus Tracker III
Camera: Canon 40D Modified
Exposure: 36x 300s @ ISO 1600
Acquisition: ImagesPlus 3.75 Camera Control
Processing: ImagesPlus 3.75 – Darks,Flats,Bias
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS3; Gradient Exterminator; Noise Ninja; Noel Carboni's Tools;
Temperature(s): 60º F
Comments: Composed of 36 Individual Exposures where the Comet moves through the field. Two individual stacks, one on the comet and one on the star field.