Comet 213P/ Van Ness

Comet 213P/ Van Ness is a recently discovered periodic comet that can reach 13 magnitude at a favourable return. It is another member of Jupiter's "family" of comets and has a perihelion distance of about 2 AU. The 2011 return was fairly favourable and the comet peaked in brightness at around 14th magnitude and displayed a fairly long straight tail.


Comet 213P/ Van Ness. June 12, 2011
Combination of 5, 3 minute images, SBIG STL-1001E CCD.
20" f/6.8 Dall-Kirkham cassegrain at prime focus.


Comet 213P/ Van Ness. July 29, 2011
Combination of 5, 3 minute images, SBIG STL-1001E CCD.
20" f/6.8 Dall-Kirkham cassegrain at prime focus.

In the above image, the brightest of the 3 interacting galaxies below the comet is the 15.3 magnitude PGC 71130, while the bright galaxy to the left of the comet is the 14.4 magnitude IC 1482.


Comet 213P/ Van Ness. August 2, 2011
Combination of 5, 3 minute images, SBIG STL-1001E CCD.
20" f/6.8 Dall-Kirkham cassegrain at prime focus.


Comet 213P/ Van Ness. August 5, 2011
Combination of 3, 3 minute images, SBIG STL-1001E CCD.
20" f/6.8 Dall-Kirkham cassegrain at prime focus.


Comet 213P/ Van Ness. August 21, 2011
Combination of 5, 3 minute images, SBIG ST9-XE CCD.
14" f/11 schmidt-cassegrain with an f/6.3 focal reducer.


Comet 213P/ Van Ness. September 25, 2011
Combination of 5, 3 minute images, SBIG STL-1001E CCD.
20" f/6.8 Dall-Kirkham cassegrain at prime focus.