Comet 2006 T1 Levy

Comet 2006 T1 Levy is a periodic comet that is a member of Jupiter's "family" of comets. It will reach perihelion in Mid-January, 2012 at a distance of about 1.01 AU and make a fairly close approach to the Earth shortly before. It was expected to peak at around magnitude 7 during January, 2012. However the estimated magnitude is very uncertain and as of October 2011, it was still below 20th magnitude and had not been recovered. :-( In the images below, the circles indicate where the comet was supposed to be located.


Comet 2006 T1 Levy. July 7, 2011.
Combination of 5, 3 minute images, SBIG STL-1001E CCD.
20" f/6.8 cassegrain at prime focus.


Comet 2006 T1 Levy. August 21, 2011.
Combination of 5, 3 minute images, SBIG STL-1001E CCD.
20" f/6.8 cassegrain at prime focus.


Comet 2006 T1 Levy. August 28, 2011.
Combination of 5, 3 minute images, SBIG STL-1001E CCD.
20" f/6.8 cassegrain at prime focus.

Although predicted to be around 13th magnitude when this image was taken, there is no sign of it in this image despite stars to magnitude 19.5 being visible!


Comet 2006 T1 Levy. September 25, 2011.
Combination of 5, 3 minute images, SBIG STL-1001E CCD.
20" f/6.8 cassegrain at prime focus.