SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Mike Olason
Location of Photo:
Tucson, Arizona
Date/Time of photo:
2026 February 26, 0237UT
Equipment:
50mm f/5 Refractor and IMX462 camera
Description:
On the evening of 2026 Feb 26 comets C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) and C/2025 Q3 (ATLAS) were 1/2 degree apart as seen in Earth's skies at 0237UT. Comet Wierzchos at magnitude 9.5 was 177 times brighter than Comet ATLAS at magnitude 15.1 which made it hard to show both comets in the same image, especially since both comets are moving at different speeds as observed from Earth. Comet Wierzchos was 98 million miles from Earth and is getting fainter as it moves away from the Sun and Earth. Comet ATLAS was 232 million miles from Earth and will also now start to get fainter as it moves away from the Sun after reaching perihelion in its orbit on Feb 25. As one can see, no special processing of these images, basically what the camera observed.
