ph . Astronomy . Gallery . Comet McNaught C/2006 P1

2007 January 19, Friday. Signal Hill Drive, Cape Town. From the fiercely bright head of the comet, the bright obvious portion of the tail, about 5 arcmin at the base, extened in PA 160° for 3.5°, broadening slightly. A closer look showed the tail was actually swept substantially eastward, covering much of southern Microscopium, in filamentary bands of alternating dark and light. The 5.5mag star eta Mic was obviously located between two bright portions, as pointed out by a bystander. At its widest I could see the tail fanned out to a 4.5° broad haze. The full length of the tail was 11°

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Keywords: Astronomy, comet, McNaught, C/2006 P1, astrophotography, digital camera, gallery, southern Africa