Hale-Bopp Comet page

<style> Hale-Bopp Comet Page This site and all the files on it are the property of Pat Swayne. </style> Hale-Bopp Comet page

In the Days of the Comet
The Artistry of Outer Space
Best view is 800x600, 16-bit or higher color.
Updated 6 January 2004
This page contains my pictures of the Hale-Bopp comet and the Orion Nebula, and many astronomy and space flight links.
I always had an interest in astronomy while I was growing up, and even built a nifty little reflector telescope. I thought of becoming an astronomer for a while, but that career interest gave way to computers. But when Hale-Bopp came along, my interest was renewed enough to get me to do something about it; to see the comet for myself and capture it's image.

Click on the pictures below to see them in a larger size.
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Where were you on March 26, 1997? If you had looked into the Northwest sky at 8:30pm, you could have seen this: the Hale-Bopp comet.	These pictures were taken near Atlanta, GA. There were thin clouds passing by, eerily lit by the city lights below.	Another picture of Hale-Bopp, with clouds passing by.
April 23, 1997. Note the change in angle. Hale-Bopp was almost gone, and won't be back for another 40 lifetimes or so.	Part of the Sword of Orion, showing the Great Orion Nebula (March 26, 1997).	My Homemade comet lens.
A space shuttle launch -- an awsome sight (photo by NASA).	New! Tammy Jernigan photo gallery (my favorite astronaut). Click here or on the pic.	A space ship that will let you fly in style!

The comet and star pictures were made by Pat Swayne using a home-made 460mm f4 lens on a Canon AE1 camera and Kodacolor 1000 speed film. All were exposed at 2.5 seconds except the April 23 picture, which was 5 seconds.

Comet Links

The NASA Hale-Bopp page. Here you will find links to other pages and hundreds of spectacular pictures, (and even a couple of mine).
Sky and Telescope's comet page. Also, check out their main site for much astronomy info.
A picture of Comet Hyakutake by Glen D. Gould.

Other Space Links

MarsNews.com. Keep up with news about missions to Mars, from news sources all over the world.
Project NEAR was one of NASA's most successful and most exciting, yet least publicized and least known projects. On 12 February 2001, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft soft-landed on the asteroid Eros (even though it was never designed to land), after orbiting it for a full year. The spacecraft journeyed for 2 billion miles over a 5 year period to reach the asteriod. Interesting links from the site: Mysteries, Touchdown, Mission end.
Space.com. One of the best all-around space flight information sites.
Space Online Today. Keep up with the lastest space news worldwide.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA's main site, where you can read up on America's space programs.
NASA Human Space Flight site. Learn about NASA's plans for future space flights.
NASA's Space Shuttle schedule. See when the next missions are due to fly. (This currently links to a Columbia memorial.)
NASA's "Liftoff " site. NASA for kids.
Mark Wade's Enclycopedia Astronautica. The most complete collection of info about American, Russian, and other space launch vehicles.
Russian Aerospace Guide. Good info on Russia's space efforts.
JPL's Basics of Space Flight course. Learn how to fly in space.
The Space Adventures site. It's coming -- tourism in space. For a cool $20 million, you can visit the International Space Station!
Glen D. Gould's page, with instructions for building a Star Tracker, for taking star pictures.
Maxx's Astrophotography. You'll find some really great space pictures here.
The AstroLair Guide To Amateur Astronomy. Information for both new and experienced amateurs. Also check the AstroLair Monthly page and the Author's Bio page.
Planetscapes. Information on the planets.
Inconstant Moon. Keep track of our nearest space neighbor.
Astroweb. Astronomy and astrophysics resources on the web.
DuWayne Sloan's Space Exploration Page. Links to sites with information on recent space exploration projects. Read about Cassini, Chandra, NEAR, and other exciting space projects.
Jose Salomon's Space Links. More space-related sites.
My Favorite Astronaut. Tamara (Tammy) Jernigan, PhD.
Marsha Ivins. Another of NASA's finest.

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