Comet Hale-Bopp
January 2001 - March 2001


Comet Hale-Bopp. January 27, 2001.
Combination of 3, 3-minute exposures, Meade 416xt CCD. 11" f/6.3 schmidt-cassegrain.

One might wonder why the comet seems so faint. I did at the time also. However it was not until I had finished the 3 images I found the reason. The focusing mask had been left on!!! Even more frustrating, the battery on my laptop died before I could retake the images!!! Needless to say, there have not been many instances since where I have made THAT mistake!


Comet Hale-Bopp. January 29, 2001.
Combination of 2, 5-minute exposures, Meade 416xt CCD. 300mm f/6 newtonian at prime focus.


Comet Hale-Bopp. January 30, 2001.
Combination of 2, 5-minute exposures, Meade 416xt CCD. 300mm f/6 newtonian at prime focus.


Comet Hale-Bopp. March 24, 2001.
Combination of 2, 3-minute exposures, Meade 416xt CCD. 8" f/6 newtonian at prime focus.


Comet Hale-Bopp. March 25, 2001.
Combination of 2, 3-minute exposures, Meade 416xt CCD. 8" f/6 newtonian at prime focus.


Comet Hale-Bopp. March 27, 2001.
Combination of 2, 3-minute exposures, Meade 416xt CCD. 8" f/6 newtonian at prime focus.


This image is a combination of the above three images from March 2001, to show the motion of the comet over the period of the images. The position of the comet is indicated by the lines, showing March 24, 2001 (bottom right) to March 25, 2001 (middle) to March 27, 2001 (top left).