Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
I was out of practice setting up the mount, camera etc and had to give up on remote control of the mount due to a dodgy USB cable. After getting most things set up I slewed over from Leo to Comet 67P which was nicely positioned nearby. The comet was easily spotted with a short exposure, revealing a compact core and short, bright tail.
Messier 3
Next up I slewed over to the bright globular cluster of M3. Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard passed this cluster a few nights previously, resulting in some wonderful photos. Taking a few exposures of this revealed a tight ball of orangey stars.
Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard
It was a long wait for Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard to finally rise into view. Low in the east I caught my first glimpse of it between the straggly hedge separating us from our neighbour. Soon though it rose into clear sky and I was able to start taking exposures. At 30 seconds these revealed a bright core with a faint tail ranging back over a few degrees. Once the camera was setup I trained my binoculars on Leonard, finding it thanks to a couple of handy nearby star patterns. It showed a ghostly appearance, an elongated fuzzball stretching upwards into the sky. It was faint but visible. I continued taking photos until the rising sun washed out the sky and Leonard was lost to view.
