Yippee!!!! Its clear again! A night with high clouds and a low comet, but I manged to find it and take some pictures! 12 x 20 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a Lumicon Swann Band filter have been processed using a rotational gradient filter, with rotation 10 degrees and amplification 10. Images obtained using 12 inch Maksutov, with SBIG ST8 CCD working in MEDIUM RESOLUTION MODE (18 micron Pixels).

8 x 30 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a Lumicon Swann Band filter have been processed using a rotational gradient filter, with rotation 10 degrees and amplification 10. Images obtained using 12 inch Maksutov, with SBIG ST8 CCD working in MEDIUM RESOLUTION MODE (18 micron Pixels).

25 x 20 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a Lumicon Swann Band filter have been processed using a rotational gradient filter, with rotation 10 degrees and amplification 10. Images obtained using 12 inch Maksutov, with SBIG ST8 CCD working in MEDIUM RESOLUTION MODE (18 micron Pixels).

25 x 20 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a Lumicon Swann Band filter have been processed using a rotational gradient filter, with rotation 10 degrees and amplification 10. Images obtained using 12 inch Maksutov, with SBIG ST8 CCD working in MEDIUM RESOLUTION MODE (18 micron Pixels).

25 x 20 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a Lumicon Swann Band filter have been processed using a rotational gradient filter, with rotation 10 degrees and amplification 10. Images obtained using 12 inch Maksutov, with SBIG ST8 CCD working in MEDIUM RESOLUTION MODE (18 micron Pixels).

16 x 30 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a Lumicon Swann Band filter have been processed using a rotational gradient filter, with rotation 10 degrees and amplification 10. Images obtained using 12 inch Maksutov, with SBIG ST8 CCD working in HIGH RESOLUTION MODE (9 micron Pixels).

17 x 30 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a Lumicon Swann Band filter have been processed using a rotational gradient filter, with rotation 10 degrees and amplification 10. Images obtained using 12 inch Maksutov, with SBIG ST8 CCD working in HIGH RESOLUTION MODE (9 micron Pixels).

This is a Composite of 16 -30 second exposures taken with an Apogee AP-7 CCD camera. The first exposure was taken on 05-05-97 at 01:24:36 UT. The images were enhanced to show the jets from the nucleus.

37 x 30 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a blue filter have been combined and processed by subtracting a 20 by 20 pixel masked version from 105% of the original image. 1st exposure started at 00:45 UT on May 1st, last exposure started at 01:15 UT.

49 x 30 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a blue filter have been combined and processed by subtracting a 20 by 20 pixel masked version from 105% of the original image. 1st exposure started at 00:45 UT on May 1st, last exposure started at 01:15 UT.

Authors: Francois Colas and Jean Lecacheux
Location: Pic de Midi Observatory (France)
Optics: 105 cm telescope. Gunn 6 filter.

Even if the comet brightness is fading, the mysterious shells around the nucleus are still active. More, the simple concentric system is now becoming more complex : on this image taken on May 2nd evening, at least three different shell systems are visible. The bad news is that the shell contrast has faded during the last week, requiring now stronger image processing.

30 x 30 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a blue filter have been combined and processed by subtracting a 20 by 20 pixel masked version from 105% of the original image. 1st exposure started at 00:45 UT on May 1st, last exposure started at 01:15 UT.

30 x 30 second exposures of Hale Bopp, taken through a blue filter have been combined and processed by subtracting a 5 by 5 pixel masked version from 105% of the original image. 1st exposure started at 00:45 UT on May 1st, last exposure started at 01:15 UT.