In early 1996, a comet alert went out. Comet Hyakutake was to be a bright naked eye object in March-April. The comet gave me a memorable night of photography in Chiefland, Florida on the night of March 22-23, 1996. Below are some of the shots:
Astronomer Jerrry Granade observing the comet through Tom Clark's 36-inch telescope. The comet was about magnitude 0 at this point and was obvious even in marginal skies. It was to be called "The Great Comet of 1996".
The comet's motion was pretty fast because of its proximity to earth. As a result, I had to guide on the comet's nucleus.
This photograph shows the comet with a wide angle 28mm lens. The tail in this image is about 20-25 degrees in length.
This photograph was shot with a 50mm lens and still shows the entire tail.
This was taken with 135mm lens. This photo was published in Astronomy and in a book about Comet Hale-Bopp.
My next shot was with my 200mm lens. It showed more detail in the tail and near the coma.
This 400mm photograph showed various rays emanating from the coma.
Weather interfered with any significant photographic effort until the moon stopped interfering. The comet became a beautiful evening object in April. However, by then, it had faded to about magnitude 3 and was only good to see in a dark location. Here is a 200mm shot of the comet showing a wonderful tail.
