Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon in the evening sky, as seen in the mountains of southern New Mexico.
First photo was taken in twilight, so the sky is blue. This comet is not very bright, so the faint extensions of the tail are easily washed out by twilight (or light pollution).
Second photo is a slightly wider view, taken in full night. The tail extends at least seven degrees. The sky background is mottled and banded. That's because bands of (mostly green) airglow were drifting across the sky.
The third photo shows the appearance of the second photo before I took steps to try and smooth the sky background. With contrast set high, not only was the sky covered with bands of lighter and darker sections of sky...but they were different colors as well.
The fourth photo shows where I placed sample areas across the frame so that image processing software could analyze, model, and correct the irregularities in the sky. Considering what I started with, my final result is pretty good.
#Comet #NewMexico #Photography #Astrophotography #Astronomy #Starlink #Satellites #Pollution #Night #iPhonePhotography #SpaceWeather #Space #Aurora #Airglow
