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Comet PanSTARRS (C2017 T2) and M81-M82 (May 23. 2020).jpg

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Comet PanSTARRS (C/2017 T2) passing near the bright galaxy pair Messier 81 (below) and Messier 82 (above) in Ursa Major on the night of May 23/24, 2020.

This was the comet that in predictions from autumn 2019 was supposed to have been the highlight of May 2020, perhaps reaching naked-eye brightness, or at least be bright enough to be good for binoculars. It was visible in 15x70 binoculars this night but quite faintly as a fuzzy spot near the brighter galaxies, so about magnitude 8 at best. Comets SWAN and ATLAS for a time usurped this comet for publicity in spring 2020 but also largely failed to perform, certainly not reaching naked eye brightness.

This is a stack of 8 x 8-minute exposures with the William Optics RedCat astrograph at f/4.9 (250mm focal length) and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 1600, median stacked. Guided on stars — so, yes, the comet has trailed somewhat but it is not noticeable at this image scale and the motion was in the direction of the comet length. The field here is about 8° x 5°, similar to binoculars. North is up.
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© 2020 Alan Dyer
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Messier Objects, Comets
Comet PanSTARRS (C/2017 T2) passing near the bright galaxy pair Messier 81 (below) and Messier 82 (above) in Ursa Major on the night of May 23/24, 2020. <br /> <br /> This was the comet that in predictions from autumn 2019 was supposed to have been the highlight of May 2020, perhaps reaching naked-eye brightness, or at least be bright enough to be good for binoculars. It was visible in 15x70 binoculars this night but quite faintly as a fuzzy spot near the brighter galaxies, so about magnitude 8 at best. Comets SWAN and ATLAS for a time usurped this comet for publicity in spring 2020 but also largely failed to perform, certainly not reaching naked eye brightness. <br /> <br /> This is a stack of 8 x 8-minute exposures with the William Optics RedCat astrograph at f/4.9 (250mm focal length) and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 1600, median stacked. Guided on stars — so, yes, the comet has trailed somewhat but it is not noticeable at this image scale and the motion was in the direction of the comet length. The field here is about 8° x 5°, similar to binoculars. North is up.