Reports from Geisei Observatory <December 1, 2014>

Brightening Comet C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS)

    Comet PANSTARRS (C/2016 M1) has become visible in Sagittarius in the pre-dawn sky. It is glowing stately as one of the few comets observable visually. In the 15cm refractor the comet shows a round coma about 3' in diameter but no tail. It passes perihelion on August 10 UT and may reach 8th magnitude around that time. Mars, which will be at the closest to the earth in July, is now shining quite close to the comet. Together with Saturn nearby, they light up the sky.
    The photograph was taken using Geisei Observatory's 70cm reflector with Nikon D700 and a 4-minute exposure at ISO 2500.