Comet Hale Bopp Over Indian Cove
Explanation:
Comet Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997, was quite a sight.
In the
above photograph
taken on 1997 April 6,
Comet Hale-Bopp was imaged from the
Indian Cove Campground in the
Joshua Tree National Park in
California,
USA.
A flashlight was used to momentarily illuminate foreground rocks in this six minute
exposure.
An impressive blue
ion tail was visible above a sunlight-reflecting white
dust tail.
Comet Hale-Bopp remained visible to the unaided eye for over a year before returning
to the outer Solar System and fading.
As
Comet ISON
approaches the Sun
this week,
sky
enthusiasts around the Earth are waiting to see if its
tails
will become even more spectacular than those displayed by Comet Hale-Bopp.
Happy Holidays:
Free APOD 2014 Calendar in PDF format
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
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Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
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NASA Official: Jay Norris.
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A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
