Canon Ftb Canon 100mm @ f/2.8 Elite-Chrome E200 Push 1 (Photo Oregon) 6 min exposure
Piggyback on Losmandy G11 Mount Guiding through Takahashi FS78
Taken from Dark Skies at Panther Creek, SW of Veneta, Oregon
5.8-6.0 Magnitude skies 2557′ elevation
Comet C/2001 Q4 Neat was discovered on August 4, 2001 by the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking Team (NEAT). This comet spent most of its time in the southern hemisphere until May 2004 when it went North and brightened.
Comet C/2001 Q4 NEAT, came within 0.34 astronomical units ( 1 AU = 92,955,807 Miles ) 31.6 million miles of earth. It reached perihelion (closest approach in it’s orbit) on May 15, 2004 . This hyperbolic comet will be flung out of our solar system, never to be seen again.
AU or Astronomical Unit (roughly earth’s distance from the sun) 93,000,000 miles.
I was lucky to have a clear May night in Oregon to image Comet C/2001 Q4 Neat May 24, 2004.