I took this photograph at Joshua Tree National Park in California on April 5, 1998, at about 8:16pm PST. I used an Olympus OM-3 camera with a Zuiko (Olympus) 85mm f/2 lens. The exposure was 4 minutes at f/2 with my new star tracking motor drive that I made to photograph this comet. The film was Kodak EPH P1600 35mm professional slide film processed for ISO 1600. I then scanned the image with a Nikon Coolscan LS-10 and used Adobe Photoshop to apply mild color correction, but no sharpening. Photograph by Rick Scott.
There are a couple of deep space objects in this photo other than the comet. M34, an open star cluster is above and barely to the left of the comet's head. The other is a double star cluster know as the Double Cluster in Perseus. It is near the center of the right edge.
Click here to read Joe & Rick's Comet Hale-Bopp Observing Dairy.
Check out the prestigious NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day site for more astronomy pictures.
Updated: 3 October 1998