Comet 220P/McNaught: A Lengthening Tail—View from Arizona
Astrophotographer Chris Schur: "Last chance this morning before the full Moon washes out sky. Was able to squeeze in 1h 15m of integration in a Moonless dark sky this morning. Field here is about 2.5 degrees wide, and comets tail is easily 2 degrees in length. G2V calibration for most accurate colors of stars and comet."
220P/McNaught, is a Jupiter-family comet with a 5.5-year orbit around the Sun. It is one of several comets discovered by Australian astronomer, Robert H. McNaught. It reached perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on June 14, 2026, two weeks after a large outburst where the comet brightened as much as 8,000 times.
Arizona is a landlocked state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest.
Location: Payson, Arizona, United States
Image Details: FOV: 125' x 100' -Orientation: N up -Seeing: 6 -Transparency: 6 -Orig. Scale: 1.6 arcsec/Pixel -Instrument: 10" f/2.9 Newt -Exposure: 1h 15m total LRGB -Camera: Atik 16200
Date: Aug. 25, 2026
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