Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Over Emilia

A photo composite of multiple exposures. From the photographer: “Currently nearing perihelion —the closest point in its orbit to the Sun— comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has significantly brightened, making it visible just before sunrise. However, viewing conditions from our northern latitudes are less than ideal: the comet is immersed in the pre-dawn glow and rises only a few degrees above the horizon before the Sun, making it primarily a photographic subject rather than one easily observed with the naked eye. This image captures the comet just above the hills of Bologna, with the Basilica of San Luca recognizable in the distance. Closer to the foreground are the areas of Maranello and Fiorano, featuring the Beata Vergine del Castello sanctuary.”

Technical details:
Canon EOS 6D, Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 lens on a SkyWatcher Star Adventurer.

Composite of three different images. The comet itself is the result of integrating 17 shots (each 1 second at f/4, ISO 3200 and 1600), blended with the sky from one of the subframes to keep the clouds stationary. The landscape was created using an HDR composition of exposures ranging from 1/4 second to 4 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400.

Despite the complexity of the processing, care was taken to preserve the relative positions of all objects in the scene.