Photographs of
Comet Hyakutake and Comet Hale-Bopp
and (new!) Comet Bradfield (2004)
Two Great Comets in Two Years
1996 and 1997 saw the appearance of two exceptional comets, Comet Hyakutake and Comet Hale-Bopp. Bright naked-eye comets such as these are relatively rare, occurring at an average rate of about 5 percentury over the last 2000 years (see "Great Comets in History" at this website). Comet Hyakutake (1996) and Comet Hale-Bopp (1997) were thebrightest comets to appear since While Comet Hale-Bopp was probably viewed by more people than any other comet in history (for reasons described below), I thought Comet Hyakutake was a more impressive visual sight than Comet Hale-Bopp due to Hyakutake's incredible size. The 70 degree tail (the angular distance from horizon to zenith is 90 degrees for comparison) was far longer than even the most optimistic predictions by scientists. The tail at maximum length could only under be seen for a couple of nights between the hours of about 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM, under dark skies, far away from cities and suburbs. This is why the incredible display put on by Comet Hyakutake went unseen by most of the general public. A very interesting article from Sky and Telescope Magazine comparing and contrasting these two recent great comets is here.
A nice photo display of these two comets (my photographs) is here.
On January 30, 1996 in Japan, Yuji Hyakutake discovered a new long period comet using 25x150 binoculars. The comet was visible to the naked eye for over two months (March through May, 1997), but on the nights of March 22 through March 28, 1996, Comet Hyakutake put on aspectacular show for viewers in the Northern Hemisphere as it passed nearest to earth (0.1 a.u.). On the night ofMarch 27, 1996, the tail of the comet was over 70 degrees long to the naked eye when viewed from dark skies far from the Above left: 50 mm, tracked for about 4 minutes. The entire tail length of this amazing comet could not fit into the field of view provided by a 50 mm lens (this photograph was used in the Skywatching CD-ROM by the Discovery Channel Multimedia). Above center: 28 mm, tracked for about 3 minutes (the Big Dipper on the left side of this photo can give one a sense of just how large this comet was to the naked eye). Above right: 50 mm, tracked for about 3 minutes. On July 23, 1995, an unusually bright comet beyond the orbit of Jupiter was discovered independently by both Alan Hale in New Mexico and Thomas Bopp in Arizona. It eventually became one of the brightest comets to be seen this century. This comet was exceptionally large as far as comets go, but it never got particularly close to the earth for a comet passing through the inner solar system. (If it had passed as close to our Earth as the smaller Comet Hyakutake, it may have been one of the brightest comet ever witnessed by mankind). Hale-Bopp was an impressive comet for many reasons, including its brightness (magnitude -0.5), its two tails of different color (a blue ion gas tail and a brighter yellow dust tail), and the exceptionally long duration of its peak performance (many weeks). For photographers, Hale-Bopp's proximity to the horizon allowed for photographs which could incorporate the comet with a variety of foreground scenery. And maybe most important of all, it was an evening comet, so sleep is possible! (the experience of photographing a pre-dawn comet over consecutive "nights" makes one really appreciate this). Hale-Bopp images from Southern Utah Above left: Terry Acomb at a campsite near Hovenweep National Monument in Utah, April 6 (50 mm, fixed tripod, about 40 seconds, camera shuttered by Jonathan Jasper). Above center: The comet over ourcampsite on the road to the Needles Overlook near Canyonlands National Park inUtah, April 2 (50 mm, fixed, about 60 seconds). Above right: The comet and theAndromeda Galaxy above the three gossips rock spires at Arches National Park inUtah, March 26 (50 mm, tracked, about 40 seconds). Above left: Jonathan Jasper obstructs an otherwise perfect view of the comet near Aneth, Utah, April 5 (50 mm, fixed, about 30 seconds). Above center: Jonathan Jasper obstructs another perfect view of the comet near Aneth, Utah, April 5, but apparently someone liked it. This edition was published in October, 2001 (50 mm, fixed tripod, about 30 seconds).Above Right: The comet setting through a rock span in Southern Utah, March 30 (50 mm, tracked, about 60 seconds). Above left: The comet above rock span in Southern Utah. The Andromeda Galaxy can be seen through the bridge, March 30 (28 mm, tracked, about 60 seconds). Above right: Same location and time (50 mm, about 60 seconds, tracked, flashed). Above left photo: The comet above Factory Butte near Hanksville,Utah, April 7 (50 mm, tracked about 3 minutes). Above right photo: Me, completely bummed about ANOTHERcloudy evening to come, at the Green River Overlook in Canyonlands NationalPark in Utah (photo by Jonathan Jasper). Return to: The Geologist's Lifetime Field List,
The photographs appearing on this website (16 in all) are the best results from my efforts to photograph these two exceptional comets. I have also included information and supporting links on comets, astrophotography, and other related subjects. All photographs on this website are single exposures, none are composites. The fast films on the market today (Kodak Ektapress 1600 film was used for all of these photographs) are far superior than the fast films available only a few years ago. They can produce excellent results when used in locations free of light pollution. Comet Hyakutake - The Great Comet of 1996
Comet Hyakutake Photographs from Ohio
Comet Hale-Bopp Photographs from Ohio
Above left: 28mm tracked photo, exposure time about 2 minutes.Above center: 50 mm tracked photo, exposure time about 1 minute. Above right: 50 mm tracked photo, about 4 minutes. Note the "tree trails" one gets when tracking for a longer period of time (this photo published in the British magazine Modern Astronomer).
Jonathan Jasper and I traveled to Utah to do some hiking and comet chasing among some of the most spectacular landscapes anywhere - the canyon country (and dark skies) of Southern Utah. The following photographs of Hale-Bopp were taken during the brightest period of its apparition (March 26-April 8, 1997). Click on the thumbnail image to see the full size photograph. 
Above left photo: Hale-Bopp setting through a rock span in Southern Utah,March 30 (50 mm, tracked, flashed). This photograph has been published numerous times. Above right photo: The comet reflected in a pond near Hovenweep National Monument (50 mm, fixed, about 30 seconds, now very much wishing that I had ran that particular exposure for another 30 seconds or so).
Many thanks to Richard West (European Southern Observatory) for linking to this site from the ESO Comet Hale-Bopp Update web page for April 23, 1997.General Information and Useful Links:
Information on these comets:
Photography information:
Images:
Other links:
This page produced by Terry Acomb (created 4/5/96; last update 7/22/99).
