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Update on comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd)
August 10, 2011
BBC Television in collaboration with Faulkes Telescope and LCOGT today imaged C/2009 P1. The images have been taken with the 2.0 meters Faulkes Telescope North by D. O Briain, BBC Television presenter. The BBC were allocated time on FT North (F65) as part of a new Citizen Science project.
We accessed with permission the resultant FITS data and our team processed the V channed with a few algorithms (the R and B fits have the comet a little trailed, so they were not usable for this purpose). We have detected hints of a plume-like feature exiting from the central condensation. This might be related with the sublimation processes within the inner coma/nucleus of the comet (asymmetric gaseous emissions toward the Sun + line of sight effect). It's an effect frequently seen in active comets near enough to be resolved.
