On this extremely rare occasion, I am posting an early, unfinished version of an image. The final version will be even better, with more detail surrounding the comet, better noise reduction, and cleaner stars. I just had to get this preview shared with the world early for documentation, especially with the first appearance of the comet's anti-tail.

As I've said before, this is truly a spectacular comet. It is the most incredible of my lifetime so far (for the northern hemisphere). On this night, the comet and 10° of tail (20 times the size of the full moon) were obvious to the naked eye. The naked eye view was unbelievable, and even more amazing in binoculars. Photographically, the tail extends well beyond 10° in length.

The lessons learned from my previous 2 attempts helped me nail it this time. I got to my spot early and was fully set up just as the stars emerged from twilight. I started my image sequence around 23:37 UTC and ended around 00:20. This preview includes the best 10 frames from the set. The final image will be around 15-20 minutes in exposure time.

I can't wait to post the final version of this!

Total integration: 2 minutes 30 seconds 10 x 15 seconds, Gain 0, Offset 50, Temp 0° (23:51 - 23:56 UTC)

Location: Bonneau Beach, SC (at the end of Black Oak Road, near White Point Beach) Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro Telescope: Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G Guide scope: Svbony SV165 30mm f/4.0 Guide Scope Guide camera: ZWO ASI224MC Capture software: N.I.N.A., PHD2, Stellarium