Comet Photography
These are some photos I've taken of comets. The first opportunity was Hyakutake, which was a gorgeous comet in the Northern Sky. The second was Hale-Bopp, a very bright and persistent comet.
Comet Hyakutake
About 3:00 am in the northern morning sky above the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. on the morning of March 27, 1996. The tail of the comet spanned one quarter of the night sky! It looked like a glowing car headlight.
The previous night, I had gone to the Bishop Museum public viewing, and couldn't see much from within the light polluted city. But, driving 45 minutes to the North Shore held a great reward. The tail stretched from about the 45 degree elevation near the North Star, to straight overhead! This is the best taken from a second night of picture taking.
Sure gets mighty tired the next day...
Nikon FE2; Nikkor 28-85mm f3.5-5.6 set at 28mm; Kodak Royal Gold 1000; approx 3 minute exposure
Comet Hale-Bopp
In the evening skies above Oahu, Hawaii on the evening of April 6, 1997. The comet is begining to fade after it's spectacular month long performance. In addition to the white dust tail, you can also faintly see in this image the rich blue plasma tail composed of ionized gases.
Nikon N90s; 85mm f1.8D; Kodak PPF 400; 30 second exposure
This gives you a idea of how large Comet Hale-Bopp appeared in the evening. Around 8:00 pm. The camera is about fifty feet away from me, and you can see the comet in the sky.
Nikon N90s; 50mm F2 AI-E; Nikon SB-16B flash; Fuji Super G 800; 30 second exposure
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Updated: April 14, 2006
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