SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Mike Olason
Location of Photo:
Tucson, Arizona
Date/Time of photo:
2026 February 16, 1254UT
Equipment:
50mm f/5 Refractor and IMX462 camera
Description:
Comet C/2026 B2 (Sun-Gao) may have reached its peak brightness as it is now moving away from the Sun and Earth. The comet was about the same brightness on the morning of February 16, magnitude 12.6, as it was a few days ago, magnitude 12.7. The comet is low in the ENE morning skies; I mistakenly said the comet was low in the southeast morning skies in my previous posts. The comet is slowly moving a little further north each morning and gaining a little altitude. It has a nice greenish coma about 1 arc minute wide, at least that is what a small 50mm f/5 Refractor telescope and camera can observe in skies with a lot of thin clouds.
