What imaging technique is recommended for observing a comet's movement against background stars over time?
Answer
Blinking multiple pictures taken hours or days apart.
To confirm the nature of a deep-space object like a comet, its movement must be analyzed over an extended period. A powerful technique for this involves imaging the same patch of sky multiple times—hours or days separating the exposures. By then using software to rapidly cycle or 'blink' these sequential images together, the fixed background stars will remain stationary while the comet, due to its orbital motion around the Sun, will exhibit a noticeable, slow displacement, thus confirming its identity as a non-stellar object.
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