Photography by Dave Schmahl

 

Comet Hale-Bopp


Date:  Saturday, May 3rd, 1997
Time:  9:00PM PDT
Location:  HWY 79, 3 miles South of Julian, Northwest San Diego County, CA, U.S.A.

50mm lens at f1.7, 1000 Kodak Gold, 20 sec exposure, unguided.

Just as the comet was setting in the west, it appeared behind the clouds.  At this late date, after the comet is well passed its perihelion point in its orbit around the sun, the ion tail is just visible as streaks of blue.