Images of Comet Hale-Bopp

This material is all copyright 1997 by Michael F. A'Hearn. It may be freely reproduced for non-commercial purposes with appropriate credit.

The preperihelion images here were taken on Kodak Ektachrome Professional Film, EHP1600, and push processed by 2 stops as recommended for this film to achieve ASA 1600. All images were taken with a 50-mm lens at f/2.0 from various locations on Mars Hill (the campus of Lowell Observatory) in Flagstaff Arizona. They were all taken at approximately 1997 March 8.5 UT. Because they were all taken from a stationary tripod, there is noticeable trailing of both the comet and the stars in the field.

. This image is a 90-second exposure near the beginning of nautical twilight. The blue ion tail, extending into the trees on the left, is well separated from the white dust tail. (23k JPEG)

. This image is a 30-second exposure early in astronomical twilight. Both tails are clearly visible. A faint hint of red near the top of the image is the North America Nebula. (29k JPEG)

This image is a 90-second exposure taken immediately after the image above. The reddish area near the top of the image is the North America Nebula. (39k JPEG)

This image was taken well into twilight and is a 30-second exposure that has been darkened in the computer. (25k JPEG)

This image is a 90-second exposure taken immediately after the preceding image and artificially darkened in the computer. (29k JPEG)

These postperihelion images were taken from Anderson Mesa, the site of Lowell Observatory's principal telescopes near Flagstaff Arizona, on April 28.15 UT. They were taken with a 50-mm lens at f/2.0 on Kodak Ektachrome EHP1600 professional film. They were push processed 3 stops to yield an effective ASA rating of 3200.

This image is a 20-second exposure. (177k JPEG)

This image is a 40-second exposure. (226k JPEG)

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Posted: mfa, 97/03/11