Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks

 Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a short-period "Halley-type" comet that was discovered in 1812.  It has an orbital period of 71 years.  It is currently visible with binoculars low in the western sky during twilight. 

Catching the comet photographically from my back-yard location in urban Santa Fe is very challenging because of trees, walls, and electrical wires.  By the time twilight has faded enough to get good exposures the comet has been obscured by all the neighborhood clutter.  

Here is the way it looked at 8:30 pm tonight:

E-M5 + Rokinon 135mm f/2.  ISO 800, 20 s.

This is a stack of three 20-sec exposures, with some contrast enhancement:

E-M5 + Rokinon 135mm f/2.  ISO 800, (20 s × 3).  3° × 2° FOV.

A quick Google search reveals that it is being called the "Devil" comet, the "Horned" comet, the "Mother-of-Dragons" comet, the "Once-in-a-lifetime" comet, and probably some other eye-rolling names.   Visually, it's just a fairly ordinary comet.   There are, however, some very beautiful long-exposure photos showing up on the internet.