Comet 128P/ Shoemaker-Holt. October 2, 2005.
Combination of 4, 3 minute images, SBIG ST-9XE CCD.
16" f/10 schmidt-cassegrain with an f/6.3 focal reducer.
Comet 128P/ Shoemaker-Holt is yet another comet with an main belt asteroid-like orbit. Numerous comets of this nature have been discovered in recent years, thanks mostly to professional surveys with large telescopes that can more readily detect cometary activity. As more of these objects are discovered, the distinction between an asteroid and a comet is becoming increasingly blurred. 128P/ Shoemaker-Holt is rather a faint comet, displaying only weak cometary activity. When this image was taken, the comet was about 18th magnitude and partly obscured by a star, as indicated by the lines.