Binocular comet ZTF, Parainen

My second observation of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), this time finally under dark skies and without hurry.

The first thing you notice about the comet is a round, hazy coma with a clear central brightness in the middle. The coma brightens rather sharply towards the center. The comet seems to be leaving a very dim and faint tail in the northwest direction. The tail is so flimsy that it is hard to tell how far the tail continues, but I estimate the length of the tail to be approx. 16'.

I also made a brightness observation of the comet with 10x50 binoculars. The observation method is the imprecise-inaccurate method. Reference stars: tau Her (3.9 mag) and TYC 3489-1588-1 (5.9 mag). Unfocused, the comet's brightness was almost the same as TYC 3489-1588-1, so I estimate the comet's brightness to be 5.9 magnitude. The comet was not visible to the naked eye, but it was easily visible with binoculars.

Coma diameter estimated using stars X (TYC 3489-48-1) and Y (TYC 3489-235-1)

DC: 7
Coma diameter: 7'
Tail direction: 338°
Tail length: about 16'
Brightness: 5.9 magnitude

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Binocular comet ZTF - 20.1.2023 at 23.35 - 21.1.2023 at 00.45 Parainen Observation number 111531