Image of Comet Hale-Bopp as it approaches the inner solar
system in summer 1996. This "false color" image depicts
the brigher regions of the comet's coma as pink/red, and the
fainter portions of the coma as green or grey.
This 16-second unfiltered CCD image was taken with the 0.81-meter
telescope at the Three College Observatory. Comet Hale-Bopp
was approaching perihelion. The image shows the faint outer "rings"
--- perhaps 15 or 20 of them are detectable in the original image. The
central region of the comet's coma was badly overexposed in order to
detect the faint rings.
This image was taken by Mr. Kimura as Hale-Bopp approached
perihelion and was visible in the early morning sky.
It is a 10-minute exposure on Konica 400 film using a
400 mm f/5.6 lens. Note the broad ion tail (faint blue) and the
brighter dust tail.
Image of Comet Hale-Bopp as it approaches the inner solar
system in summer 1996. This "false color" image depicts
the brigher regions of the comet's coma as pink/red, and the
fainter portions of the coma as green or grey.
This identical image is displayed without the use of
"false colors" to enhance brightness variations, and represents
a more realistic depiction of the comet's coma as seen through
a moderate-aperture telescope.
The Three College Observatory is located south of Burlington, NC.